Tigers leave for UAE, to play Sri Lanka Sept 15

Asia Cup

Published: September 10, 2018 15:07:52 | Updated: September 12, 2018 15:10:29

A strong Bangladesh Cricket team led by ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza left the capital for United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday evening at 7:30 pm by an Emirates flight to participate in the six-nation Asia Cup Cricket.

The tournament will start on September 15 in Dubai.

Two times Asia Cup finalists Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka in the opening match on September 15 in Dubai. Later they will meet Afghanistan on September 20 in Abu Dhabi in day-night match with a sweet memory of series win against hosts West Indies.

The ensuing Asia Cup will be held in the new format where six participating teams will initially compete in two groups and later two top teams from each of the groups will play in the super four stage, reports UNB.

Bangladesh's Test and T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan is scheduled to reach UAE from the USA to join the team on Sunday, denying all the allegation of his poor fitness.

Ahead of the tour, BCB earlier faced an awkward and embarrassing situation over the confusion centring Shakib Al Hasan's fitness for the Asia Cup as he (Shakib) informed media that he was '20-30 per cent fit' for the tournament, adding that the top players cannot play with such low levels of fitness.