But the batch of 2020 is a little different because of their victory. The immediate success of some of these young players has further validated their potential. Mahmudul had a great start in New Zealand and South Africa last year. Hridoy became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score more than 500 ODI runs in his debut year.
Shorifull himself made a great start, and although he does not have a huge range of wickets, he has steadily improved to the point where at times he has been preferred over the highly experienced Mustafizur Rahman. And he showed his penchant for the big stage by taking 2 for 34 in 6.2 overs in his first ODI World Cup game as Bangladesh started their 2023 campaign with a six-wicket win.
While Shoriful did not want to compare the ODI World Cup with the Under-19 World Cup, he said that the atmosphere in both the campaigns was similar.
“It was the Under-19 World Cup. This is the main World Cup. The difference is the world-class batsmen in this tournament. There are some of them in the Under-19s but almost everyone here is of the highest level. They step up,” Shoriful told Afghanistan. Said after Bangladesh’s opening match against Bangladesh, “Your small mistakes.
“There are four of us here, so we are really enjoying the World Cup. Everyone is friendly. We are getting along well. It is a similar start to the Under-19 World Cup, and If Allah wills it, we want to end like that. “We want to take it match-by-match, like we did three years ago.”
Shorifull’s two wickets in Bangladesh’s win came in his last spell, as he compensated for an ordinary opening innings. Bangladesh struggled to contain Afghanistan’s top three as they were 83 for 1 in the 16th over, but Shakib Al Hasan provided the crucial breakthrough. Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers took four wickets.
Shorifull said that the bowling unit was confident of itself to make a comeback. “We believed that any one of the five bowlers could give us success. Someone or the other would turn the game around by taking one or two wickets. When someone’s over or spell was bad, we did not panic. Someone would definitely give. Come forward.
“We tried to bowl in the right areas in the beginning but unfortunately that didn’t happen. The captain told us that we were probably missing something so we should be more tight in the next spell.”
Bangladesh’s World Cup has just started but an impressive win will give them a boost, especially ahead of the England game at the same venue on October 10. A few more wins in the early stages will be a boost for the Bangladesh team, but apart from technical and tactical, managing a winning environment is a lesson the senior team can learn from the U-19 world champions. They know who to ask.