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Cape Town - The 2019 Cricket World Cup gets underway on Thursday, May 30 when the Proteas take on England at The Oval in London.
With the squads all confirmed and the IPL now a thing of the past, attention will move swiftly to the World Cup and South Africa's efforts to finally taste success in a tournament that has haunted them for decades.
Sport24 will be bringing you all of the news you need to know before and during the showpiece.
Over the next two weeks, we will be profiling all 10 of the sides competing, highlighting their chances at the competition and players to look out for.
2019 CWC team profile: AFGHANISTAN
2019 CWC team profile: AUSTRALIA
We'll be providing one team preview every day, moving along in alphabetical order.
Next up, we have Bangladesh.
BANGLADESH
Overview
This will be Bangladesh's sixth straight appearance at the World Cup since debuting in the tournament back in 1999. They have had mixed results since then without ever enjoying a run deep into the competition. Impressively, they have won 33% of their World Cup fixtures and they have put away associate members with relative ease along the way. Bangladesh have beaten England at the last two World Cups while they also boast impressive wins over India, South Africa (both 2007) and Pakistan (1999). They featured in their first ever knockout match in the 2015 edition of the tournament but were beaten comfortably by a strong Indian outfit.
Bangladesh leave the field after defeating India at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies (Getty).
Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed
Coach: Steve Rhodes
Bookies prediction: 9th
Best World Cup finish: QFs - 2015
Batsman to watch
The story if Mushfiqur Rahim goes back all the way to 2005 when he made his Test debut against England at Lord's as a 16-year-old. He has notched up 203 ODIs since then and has been to three World Cups already. Only Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan - both in the 2019 squad - have scored more ODI runs for Bangladesh, but Rahim is the man in the best form going into the World Cup, as evidenced by his current ODI batting ranking of 16th. Interestingly, Bangladesh have appointed former Protea Neil Mckenzie as their batting coach for the tournament.
Mushfiqur Rahim (Getty)
Bowler to watch
Mustafizur 'The Fiz' Rahman is exactly the fast bowler Bangladesh have wanted ever since they broke onto the international stage. Still just 23, Rahman has notched up some hugely impressive numbers since making his ODI debut back in 2015. He has been a constant in the IPL since then and as a result has developed an array of skills that he uses to devastating effect at the death. Rahman is currently ranked at No 11 in the ICC ODI bowling rankings but has actually experienced a dip in form in recent times. If he fires, however, Bangladesh have a bowler up front who can do damage at either end of the innings. While they will rely heavily on spin, Rahman gives them some potency with the new ball.
Mustafizur Rahman (Getty)
Realistic expectation
Their history at the tournament suggests that Bangladesh can beat anybody on their day, but it is hard to see them ruffling too many feathers in 2019. The quality of the other squads in this tournament makes progression through to the knockouts an incredibly difficult ask. They will expect to beat Afghanistan, while they will also eye Sri Lanka as a game they can win. A top six finish will leave bangladesh more than satisfied, but a top eight target is probably more realistic.
Fixtures
June 2 v South Africa (The Oval)
June 5 v New Zealand (The Oval)
June 8 v England (Cardiff)
June 11 v Sri Lanka (Bristol)
June 17 v West Indies (Taunton)
June 20 v Australia (Nottingham)
June 24 v Afghanistan (Southampton)
July 2 v India (Birmingham)
July 5 v Pakistan (Lord's)
Twitter: @BCBtigers
