The thought of Bangladesh coming to Aotearoa to play some cricket, tends not to get cricket-lovers frothing. So imagine the excitement levels now, after Bangladesh lost to an Aotearoa XI team that was made up of kiwi cricketers who weren't deemed good enough to play for their respective domestic teams in the Super Smash.

I can't sit here and tell y'all that Bangladesh will definitely shake things up against the Blackcaps. The reason for my optimism regarding what Bangladesh will offer revolves around a very talented crop of young cricketers who join an established gang of familiar names; Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. That very reason for Bangladeshi optimism could however see inexperience combined with the usual struggles of sub-continent teams touring Aotearoa.

That cluster of grizzly veterans will form the core of this Bangladesh team and for Bangladesh to pose any sort of threat to the Blackcaps, they will need Al Hasan, Iqbal, Rahim and Mahmudullah to fire with the bat. The exciting talent sits with Bangladesh's bowling stocks and regardless of whether their veteran batsmen are required to set a defendable total, or chase something down, whether two of three of them can consistently chip in will make or break this three-game ODI series. 

All four of these lads average in the early-30's in ODI cricket, while Mahmudullah is the only one to do anything of substance in Aotearoa with an average of 56.75 in kiwi conditions. Al Hasan and Rahim average in the 20's and Iqbal averages a handy 35.62, although the momentum gained by Bangladesh in the past 18 months has them simmering with a low key confidence and I wouldn't put it past any of these blokes to score well above their averages across the three games. 

Soumya Sarkar batted at No.3 in the tour game and at 23-years-old, the lad has an ODI average of 42.52 and a career strike-rate of 100.41. I suspect we'll see Sarkar come in at No.3 in the ODI games as well, ahead of Mahmudullah, Al Hasan and Rahim (in that order) and it'll be very interesting to see what Sarkar offers in Aotearoa. Much of Sarkar's best work has come in Bangladesh - Dhaka to be more specific - albeit against the world's top-tier as he hit 127* against Pakistan in April 2015 and then went on to put up scores of 54, 34 and 40 against India, then 27, 88* and 90 against South Africa. 

The other batsman to keep an eye on is 25-year-old Sabbir Rahman, who made his Test debut against England in October earlier this year. His ODI average of 29.66 isn't anything to tell ya homies about, a strike-rate of 95.11 in ODI cricket along with 92.59 in List-A cricket definitely is though; Rahman gives it a whack. During the last World Cup, Rahman hit scores of 53, 42*, 14, 40 and 30 which has me eager to see what Rahman can offer down the order, especially if his top order lay a platform.

Rahman will also bowl leg-spin and this is where I get a little excited, as Bangladesh have a bowling attack that could trouble the Blackcaps. Let me stress that things could go either way, however this probably the best bowling attack (and team in general) that we've seen a touring Bangladesh team bring and that they are all very young should build a little excitement. Rahman's leggies are good enough to give him a List-A bowling average of 27.22, which is a lot better than his work in ODI cricket but the kiwi batsmen could be tempted into trying to attack Rahman and that could result in wickets.

Bangladesh also boast 19-year-old off-spinning phenom Mehedi Hasan and this lad averages under 30 in all three domestic formats. Hasan is yet to play ODI cricket, but he made his Test debut against England and in two Test matches he has taken 19 wickets. 

Those two young spinners are joined by 21-year-old pace bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman; Ahmed's a righty, Rahman a lefty. Rahman is known for his variations and he freakishly averages under 20 in all three international formats, as well as all three domestic formats, led by an ODI average of 12.34. Ahmed offers serious pace and he's a wee bit more experienced than Rahman, averaging 26.35.

Mortaza skippers the side and gives Bangladesh a steady seam-bowling option, which should compliment the young quick bowlers. Rubel Hossain could also feature as a seamer, while Tanbir Hayder is another spin option. A bowling attack consisting of Mortaza, Ahmed, Mustafizur, Sabbir, Hasan and Al Hasan would give Bangladesh three seamers and three spinners, who all offer something slightly different. Take the spinners for example; Sabbir is a leggy, Hasan's an offie and Al Hasan's a lefty.

The cloud of touring sub-continent teams struggle to handle Aotearoa's pitches and overhead conditions, lingers over Bangladesh and it's very possible we will see their batsmen made to look silly. Bangladesh do however have batsmen who have been here before and have scored runs here before, which should spread confidence throughout their squad. 

Most notably, Bangladesh carry a gang of youngsters in Sarkar, Mustafizur, Ahmed, Sabbir and Hasan who ooze talent, as well as potential. Usually Bangladesh either come with no youngsters of this calibre, or just a bowler/batsman. This squad features talented young batsmen, seamers and spinners, which could see Bangladesh sneak in a win ... or two.