Bangladesh under-19 team will begin their Asian Cricket Council U-19 Asia Cup campaign on Thursday against Afghanistan in a Group B match at Matara, Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament.
Led by captain Saif Hasan, the tournament is part of the junior Tigers' preparation for the 2018 U-19 World Cup, scheduled to be held in New Zealand.
Bangladesh’s major focus in the Asia Cup this year will be to find the right team combination, bearing in mind that they are inexperienced compared to their Thursday's opposition. Right-arm paceman Abdul Halim is the only member in the squad, other than Saif, who has the experience of playing in the last edition of the Youth World Cup, hosted by Bangladesh earlier this year.
Bangladesh have been placed in Group B alongside Pakistan, Afghanistan and Singapore. Pakistan jointly clinched the last edition of the regional youth title in 2014 along with arch-rival India after the game ended in a tie.
On the other hand, the Afghan youngsters claimed the last two ACC U-19 Premier League titles in 2014 and 2015.
Bangladesh will play their group stage matches in Galle and Matara while the Group A teams will play all their games in Colombo. The Bangladesh youngsters are scheduled to take on their Singapore counterparts in their second game on Friday in Galle before facing Pakistan U-19 at the same venue this Sunday.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
