How do they look?
Bangladesh have an opportunity to recover their ODI pride in the Champions Trophy. They are a team on the descent over the last five years, and in 2024, they won just a third of their nine matches. They are also a team in transition, especially with the exit of top cricketers like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.
The team is now centred on Najmul Hossain Shanto, the stylish left-hand batter, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed, who make up the senior lot in the team. But Shanto is out of form, and getting back among the runs is a priority for him if he hopes to inspire the rest of the batting line-up, especially the likes of top-order batters Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar.
The middle order has the veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, with Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali complementing them.
The encouraging part of the line-up is the fast-bowling attack. Led by Taskin, they have the experienced Mustafizur Rahman in there too, but it is the bustling Tanzim Hasan and the raw pace of Nahid Rana that are more exciting.
Bangladesh's spin bowling, however, isn't what it used to be, while their fielding tends to blow hot and blow cold, more often the latter.
Who are their first-round opponents?
Feb 20: Bangladesh v India, Dubai
Feb 24: Bangladesh v New Zealand, Rawalpindi
Feb 27: Bangladesh v Pakistan, Rawalpindi
Bangladesh are in Group A, where they will take on Asian rivals India and Pakistan, apart from New Zealand. They should have pretty good recent memories about India - they won their last bilateral series in December 2022 at home, after all. Bangladesh also beat India in the 2023 Asia Cup but lost in their World Cup contest.
New Zealand are one of the top teams that Bangladesh play regularly, which could play to their advantage in subcontinental conditions, and they did pull one back after losing the three-match series in New Zealand in late 2023, the last time they played a bilateral ODI series.
Bangladesh also played two Tests in Rawalpindi last year, a venue where they play two of their three group matches. Bangladesh beat Pakistan in both Tests then, but Pakistan have the upper hand in ODIs, having last lost to Bangladesh in 2018.
Best XI
1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Rest of the squad: Parvez Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan, Jaker Ali
Players(s) to watch
TV commentators like Ian Bishop have raved about Nahid Rana and Tanzim Hasan. Batters like Tanzid Hasan and Jaker Ali also have the potential, but have to bring consistency into their game - perhaps true of Bangladesh as a whole.
Key stats
Bangladesh won two-thirds of their ODIs (ten out of 15) in 2022, but that rate came down to one-third (three out of nine) in 2024. Something that is a concern.
Recent ODI form
Bangladesh lost in West Indies (3-0) and in Sharjah against Afghanistan (2-1) in their last two bilateral ODI series.
Champions Trophy history
Bangladesh have won just two out of their 12 matches in the competition over the years. The first was against Zimbabwe in Jaipur in 2006 and the second was in the last edition, in 2017, in Cardiff against New Zealand.