Here is our all-time Bangladesh XI for the Men’s ODI Asia Cup, a tournament where they finished runners-up twice.
Bangladesh reached the final in two of the last three editions of the Men’s ODI Asia Cup (three in five if one includes the T20I edition). Our XI consists of some outstanding cricketers.
Tamim Iqbal
Matches: 13, Runs: 519, Average: 43.25, Strike rate: 81
Tamim made six fifties and went past 20 five more times in 13 innings at the Asia Cup. His most famous Asia Cup performance, however, was a two not out in 2018, when he emerged with a broken hand to help Mushfiqur Rahim – the only Bangladeshi with more runs in the tournament – put on 32 for the last wicket.
Imrul Kayes
M: 7, R: 248, Ave: 41.33, SR: 73
Tamim’s former opening partner – ‘Bro’ to his fans – made fifties in three consecutive innings at the Asia Cup. Nothing unusual in that, except the fact that they came in three separate editions. The two sixes in the second of these, off Shahid Afridi, brought a packed Mirpur crowd to its feet.
Anamul Haque
M: 4, R: 227, Ave: 56.75, SR: 68
Anamul played only in the 2014 edition, where he could do little wrong: his four innings included 77 against India, 100 against Pakistan, and 49 against Sri Lanka.
Athar Ali Khan
M: 11, R: 368, Ave: 36.80, SR: 57
Athar played his last Asia Cup match in 1997, before Bangladesh became an ICC Full Member. Bangladesh lost each of the matches he played in, but his average still sits well next to the Mushfiqurs and Shakibs. So good was his 78 against Sri Lanka in 1989/90 that they named him Player of the Match despite the 71-run defeat. And in 1997, he made 82 against Pakistan, 42 against Sri Lanka, and 33 against India.
Mushfiqur Rahim (c & wk)
M: 21, R: 699, Ave: 36.78, SR: 85 | Catches: 14, Stumpings: 3
Mushfiqur’s numbers can be split into two parts: he averaged 16.11 in his first nine innings, and 54.40 in the next ten. The turning point was the 25-ball unbeaten 46 against India that helped Bangladesh soar to the final for the first time, in 2012. Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer at the tournament made 117 against India 144 against Sri Lanka, and 99 against Pakistan.
Nasir Hossain
M: 8, R: 237, Ave: 39.50, SR: 68
Nasir made at least 28 in six of his seven Asia Cup innings. With 165 runs at 55, he played a key role in Bangladesh’s excellent run in 2012, when, for the first time, they qualified for the final of a multi-nation tournament not featuring Zimbabwe.
Shakib Al Hasan
M: 13, R: 402, Ave: 33.50, SR: 103 | Wickets: 19, Average: 32.73, Economy: 4.87
Shakib averages more with the bat than with the ball, which is the hallmark of the top all-rounders. His scoring rate and economy rate emphasise his importance in the side. At the top of the pile will be the 2012 edition (237 runs at 59.25, six wickets at 33.17).
Mohammad Rafique
M: 8, W: 8, Ave: 37.37, Ec: 4.53
Rafique’s illustrious career was over before Bangladesh took off as a team, but he made the most of his limited opportunities. Even in his last Asia Cup, in 2004, he gave away only 4.07 an over.
Abdur Razzak
M: 18, W: 22, Ave: 36.18, Ec: 4.67
Only five bowlers across teams – and no one from Bangladesh – have more wickets than Razzak’s 22. It was his bowling that helped his team beat India and Sri Lanka in 2012.
Rubel Hossain
M: 8, W: 8, Ave: 35.50, Ec: 4.81
Rubel’s finest performance came in his last match, in the 2018 final. He took out Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, and bowled beautifully at the death to finish with 10-2-26-2. India did pull off the chase, but only off the last ball.
Mustafizur Rahman
M: 5, W: 10, Ave: 18.50, Ec: 4.50
Mustafizur returned 2-38 in the same final where Rubel starred, but his best performance came in the match before that. Defending 240, he took 4-43 – two in his first spell, two at the end – to keep Pakistan to 202-9 and take Bangladesh to the final.
