World Cup preview: Bangladesh

The squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed

Who they are missing: Bangladesh have enjoyed a stable squad over the past few years but there was no room for Shaiful Islam and Taskin Ahmed.

Form line (most recent first): WWWAWLLLWL

The 2015 result: Quarter-finals

Best finish: Quarter-finals (2015)

The big question: Can Bangladesh take the next step and contend for the title? The 2019 edition will be Bangladesh's sixth World Cup and they are no longer the minnows they were when they made their tournament debut 20 years ago. Their ICC ODI ranking exemplifies their improvement; sitting at No.7 in the world, the Tigers are above two-time World Cup champions West Indies and 1996 winners Sri Lanka. Eight players in their squad played in the 2015 tournament, where they made the quarter-finals after an epic win over England that sparked a revolutionary overhaul in English one-day cricket. The Tigers have at least one win against every World Cup opponent and while English conditions might be vastly different from those at home, in former England gloveman and head coach Steve Rhodes they will have a well of local knowledge at their disposal. Can Bangladesh take another giant step forward and make the semi-finals? Time will tell.

Player to watch: Described as a "special talent" by Australia opening batsman David Warner and a "genius" by former teammate Moises Henriques, exciting speedster Mustafizur Rahman is one to watch this World Cup. The whippy left-armer has overcome an ankle injury to be fit for Bangladesh's campaign and if the Tigers are going to make an impact in the UK this northern summer, 'The Fizz' will be at the heart of it. Armed with a slower ball so deceptive it's rendered the best batsmen in the world clueless, Mustafizur will be handful at the back-end of an innings as opposition batsmen look to go large and long.

Don't be surprised if: Bangladesh burst out of the gates. The Tigers have spent most of May in Dublin adapting to European conditions and won the ODI tri-series against hosts Ireland and the Windies. Bangladesh's first opponent is South Africa, who have injury clouds hanging over the heads of star pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn. With their first two matches to played at The Oval in London – against the Proteas and New Zealand – Bangladesh can expect strong crowd support before heading to Cardiff to take on tournament favourites England.

World Cup numbers

Team record: Matches: 32 | Won: 11 | Lost: 20 | Tied: 0 | NR: 1

Highest total: 4-322 v Scotland, Nelson 2015

Lowest total: 58 v West Indies, Dhaka 2011

Most runs: Veteran allrounder Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's most prolific run-scorer at World Cups with 540 runs at 30 in 21 matches. However, Mahmudullah is the only Tiger to post a World Cup century, and he did it twice in 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

Most wickets: Shakib also has the most wickets, with 23 scalps in 21 matches across three World Cup campaigns.

Most dismissals: Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim has captured 18 dismissals (13 caught, five stumped) in 21 matches at the quadrennial 50-over showpiece.

The fixtures:

June 2 v South Africa, London, 7.30pm AEST

June 5 v New Zealand, London, 10.30pm AEST

June 8 v England, Cardiff, 7.30pm AEST

June 11 v Sri Lanka, Bristol, 7.30pm AEST

June 17 v West Indies, Taunton, 7.30pm AEST

June 20 v Australia, Nottingham, 7.30pm AEST

June 24 v Afghanistan, Southampton, 7.30pm AEST

July 2 v India, Birmingham, 7.30pm AEST

July 5 v Pakistan, London, 7.30pm AEST