Beware of the bite of the Bangladesh Tigers

By Mubeen Mohamed

This week marks a significant occasion for the Bangladesh cricket team known to many as the Tigers.

They have not toured South African shores for 10 years with the last tour being back in 2007. This tour could be seen as a massive milestone in their cricket history as bigger nations begin to realise that the “tigers” are no longer the minnows or whipping boys of international cricket.

They are now a force to be reckoned with. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim and his charges will be out here in South Africa to prove a further point that they can definitely mix it up with the big boys and certainly have the pedigree to upset South Africa on home soil. However, one factor that could affect them is their star

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim and his charges will be out here in South Africa to prove a further point that they can definitely mix it up with the big boys and certainly have the pedigree to upset South Africa on home soil.

However, one factor that could affect them is their star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, considered to be one of the best all-rounders in the world. He will, unfortunately, miss the first test and could possibly be available for the 2nd test in Bloemfontein due to taking a 6-month sabbatical leave which he has requested as his workload and amount of cricket played has been just too much.

Furthermore, South Africa will definitely not be underestimating Bangladesh. The last three seasons Bangladesh has made great strides by reaching the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarterfinals, beating Sri Lanka in a series in 2016 as well as pushing the Kiwis all the way in New Zealand.

The Tigers recently they beat England and Australia respectively in test matches but drew the series overall to those nations.

All these victories and close fought games prove to us that Bangladesh is definitely on the rise and the Proteas will need to be sharp and well prepared for them.

On the other hand, the Proteas will want to start their home summer of cricket on a good note as their recent tour of England which included the ICC champions trophy, the ODI’s and test matches during the May, June, July, and August period was a tour the players will definitely want to forget.  Their results were very poor and disappointing.

The new season thus begins with a busy period which will take us from September all the way to march with India, Zimbabwe, and Australia all touring this summer. The Proteas players will feature for the first time in South Africa’s T20 competition.

New coach Ottis Gibson will have a point to prove that he indeed is the right man for the job and he will want to reinstall that winning mentality which made South Africa the number one test and ODI side in the world.

One thing is for sure, the fans can expect a summer of entertaining cricket that will definitely be worth watching.