Tigers head for India today

MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN

After a phenomenal performance in the Asia Cup T20 the Bangladesh national team will leave for India in order to take part in the ICC World Twenty20 at 10 am today.

They are scheduled to reach Delhi by noon and from there they will board a chartered flight to Dharamsala, where they will play their first World Cup game against the Netherlands on March 9. On March 11 they will face Ireland and on March 13 they will take on Oman. For the Tigers to proceed to the Super 10 they will need to finish on top of the group.

The talking point prior to their departure for the World Cup has been Mustafizur Rahman's fitness concerns. The pace bowler suffered a side strain during the Sri Lanka game in the Asia Cup and as a result was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

However, the good news is that the pacer is doing a lot better than he initially was. According to the team physio, his pain had decreased by a huge margin and the team management is confident that the bowler can take part in the competition from the first game.

That will come as a relief for most Bangladesh fans as many feared that the left-armer would take at least two weeks to recover. However, as per the current scenario, the bowler is likely to be fit to play the Netherlands game.

Bangladesh's bowling unit fired throughout the Asia Cup with the likes of Al-Amin Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and Taskin Ahmed hitting form.

However, the effect that Mustafizur can have in the World Cup is something totally different. With the left-hander in the side, the Tigers, despite their good run, will be a lot calmer while playing against the Associate member nations in the first round of the competition.

His cutters and other variations will be aspects that Bangladesh's first-round opponents will have never faced before and it will definitely be an advantage for the Tigers.

Despite the good performances, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza during press conferences in the Asia Cup, repeatedly stated the importance of Mustafizur and the reason behind that is obvious: in the past year, he has been the go-to bowler for the Tigers whenever the team needed wickets.

With the team scheduled to reach Dharamsala today evening, they will have an entire day to get accustomed to the slightly chilly conditions there. The practice matches that have already taken place there indicated that there was a bit of grass on the wickets, which is something that the Tigers will have to be prepared for.