Bangladesh’s cricketers will arrive in Sylhet from Dhaka on Tuesday, April 19. They are set to begin the final preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup. Ahead of this prestigious tournament, the Bangla Tigers will also play a three-match T20I series against the Netherlands.
The Dutch will come to Bangladesh for the first time for a bilateral T20I series, which will begin on August 30. The visitors will arrive in the country on August 26. Two other matches will take place on September 1 and September 3. All three matches of this series will be played in Sylhet.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) asked their players to train in Sylhet for the upcoming Asia Cup. The reason is the batting-friendly nature of the pitches here. The pitches in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Stadium are too sluggish for shot-making in T20 cricket. Hence, Sylhet was chosen as the alternate venue.
Before arriving in Sylhet, the players had undergone rigorous training and skill work in Dhaka. They took part in time trial tests in 1600 metres running. They also came through gym sessions, acrobatics, and skill work to boost their preparations.
The selectors must decide on Bangladesh’s final squad for the Netherlands series, as well as the Asia Cup. Both decisions will be made after this final week of training in Sylhet. As of now, only a preliminary squad has been announced, with wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das expected to be the captain.
Bangladesh are placed in Group B in the Asia Cup, hosted by the United Arab Emirates. They will play their first game against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on September 11. The game will be followed by fixtures against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. These matches will take place at the same venue, on September 13 and 16.
Bangladesh’s preliminary T20 squad: Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shamim Patwari, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nahid Rana, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahidul Islam Ankon, and Saif Hasan.
