The 12th Asia Cup cricket will kick off Tuesday at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium at Fatullah in Narayanganj, keeping aside all the uncertainty of hosting the Asia Cup in Bangladesh for security reasons.
In the first match, Pakistan will face the enthusiastic Sri Lanka.
Misbah-ul-Haq and his side will be confident Tusday facing Sri Lanka after they recently won the five match ODI series 3-2 in UAE with Junaid Khan, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal leading their bowling attack.
New coach Moin Khan earlier informed that they are looking to retain their title before coming to Bangladesh, but Pakistan will have to fight hard against the spirited Lankans, who had a great time against in the ODI series against Bangladesh, which they won 3-0.
Sri Lanka, who have been in Bangladesh for over a month now, will surely have the advantage in terms of having adapted to the conditions. However, Pakistan are used to playing on the type of pitches they will encounter in Bangladesh.
The Lankans will be looking to the senior pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara - both of whom have been in superb form in Bangladesh – but will miss hard hitting opener Tillakaratne Dilshan,who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a hand injury.
Mahela Jayawrdene may open the innings, as he has done before with great success, along with Kusal Perera – whose aggressive style has earned him a reputation for being the next Sanath Jayasuriya – a status he demonstrated in smashing a century against Bangladesh in the last ODI.
It will be test for both Pakistan and Sri Lanka as both the side will be looking to start the tournament on a high note to gain the confidence for the rest of the tournament.
On February 22, the Bangladesh Cricket Board declared a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup.
Opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal has been left out due to a neck injury and will be replaced by top order batsman Imrul Kayes. Mahmudullah lost his place in the squad after a run of poor performances and was replaced by all-rounder Ziaur Rahman for the number seven spot.