We need to pick early wickets against India – BCB chief selector

|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh needs to pick early wickets if they want to do well against India in the upcoming World Cup fixture considering the strength of their opponent’s batting line-up.

Bangladesh will take on India in their do-or-die match at Edgbaston on June 2 and need to win the match as well as topple Pakistan in their following games if they want to have a chance of sealing a berth in the World Cup semi-final.

Only once in their six matches in the ongoing World Cup -- in the match against New Zealand on June 5 -- have Bangladesh taken more than one wicket in the first 10 overs. Against India that could well be costly, especially if the likes of Rohit Sharma are allowed to settle in.

‘’We have to pick early wickets,’’Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricfrenzy on Friday.

‘’You cannot give their openers a chance to settle because once they settle down they make sure to lay a platform for the others to exploit in the end and if that is the case it will too tough for us,’’ he said.  

Bangladesh have some inspiration to draw on from the World Cup warm-up game against India on May 28. Mustafizur Rahman opened the bowling, got the wicket of the now-injured Shikhar Dhawan and consistently troubled Kohli and Sharma with his pace and swing. However, his consistency has been a concern in the tournament proper and, if he does open the bowling, any loose balls will be punished by Sharma and KL Rahul -- who scored a century in the warm-up.