After nearly five months away from 50-over cricket, Bangladesh are set to return to ODI action with a three-match series against Pakistan, starting Wednesday at 2:15 pm at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The team, which skipped the last T20 World Cup due to security concerns, is now fully focused on ODIs as they look to strengthen their campaign ahead of the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup.
Currently, Bangladesh sit 10th in the ICC ODI rankings. Only the top eight teams at a certain cut-off will secure direct qualification for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, adding pressure on the side ahead of the series.
Historically, Bangladesh have played 39 ODIs against Pakistan, winning only five while losing 34. The last scheduled meeting in the 2025 Champions Trophy was washed out by rain, and the previous bilateral ODI series between the two sides was in 2015, when Bangladesh swept Pakistan 3-0 at home. Eleven years later, the two sides face off again.
Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz stressed the importance of planning ahead for the World Cup. “We have a goal. With the 2027 ODI World Cup approaching, we need to start our preparation now. In the past, senior players had experience and understood the patterns well. Now, the current players need to take responsibility. ODI cricket is a format where you have to adapt to every situation,” he said.
The Mirpur pitch has also been a talking point. During the last home ODI series against West Indies, the wicket was slow and spin-friendly, leading to criticism. Miraz assured fans that extreme conditions will not be repeated as the team gears up for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
“We will definitely play on true wickets,” Miraz said. “What we did in the West Indies series is something every team does at home. Teams always try to take advantage of home conditions. Since West Indies have two spin bowlers, we prepared accordingly. But now, we want our batsmen to gain confidence and score runs, that’s the way forward.”
Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi also commented on the wicket ahead of the series, saying, “So far, it feels a bit in favor of the fast bowlers. We’ll check again, discuss with the team management, and plan accordingly.”
Bangladesh’s batting order is largely set. Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan will open, with Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy in the top order. Liton Das and Afif Hossain Dhrubo will anchor the middle order, while Miraz prefers batting at number seven.
Out of 85 innings, Miraz has batted 16 times at number seven, scoring 226 runs at an average of 14.12. He has been more successful at number eight, scoring 662 runs, including one century and two fifties.
Since I have experience batting at the same position for around eight to nine years, usually at number eight, I have led the team in many matches alongside the bowlers and won several games. That is why I feel that, given my experience, batting at number seven would be very helpful for the team,” Miraz said.
In his last 11 ODIs for Bangladesh, Miraz has scored 191 runs with one half-century and taken 11 wickets. When asked about concerns over his recent form, he said, “I’m not too worried about it. It’s not like we have played a lot of matches. Since the World Cup, we’ve played around 23 ODIs, and even those came with long gaps in between.”
