Tigers turn from boys to men
Bangladesh Cricket Team
|| Desk Report ||
The resumption of Asia Cup in the UAE turns down the clock where it had all began 34 years ago when Bangladesh takes on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener on September15.
A tournament that began its journey at Sharjah 1984 will have the chance to give the die-hard Asian fans some nerve wrecking cricket exploits in the upcoming two weeks.
Dubai International Stadium and Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium hosts the Asia Cup’s 14th edition, a tournament that was beginning on Saturday.
It can be a captivating contest considering both the teams are quite equal in strength and game plan while the question on everyone’s mind that remains unsolved is whether this edition will showcase the best and keenly fought matches in the history of the tournament.
The aura of this tournament had been astonishing to say the least despite the fact that it was not held being regularly due to some top teams pulling out at different times.
The contests have always been brilliant and have been keenly watched by cricket fans around the world.
During the 34-year span, 13 editions of this tournament have been held, with the UAE hosting the inaugural tournament in 1984, and then in 1995.
This edition of the Asia Cup is special in many ways because none of the participating countries can claim to be the favorites as several team are eyeing for a spot.
When Sharjah hosted the first edition of the Asia Cup, cricket fans filled every seat in the stadium. That paved the way for the UAE to emerge as the world’s most popular neutral venue.
Since expatriates from all the participating countries live here, the cricketing world, for the first time, saw fans in equal numbers cheering for their teams from one stadium.
Like in the previous years, this edition of the tournament is also poised to add some unforgettable moments to the tales of Asia Cup.
‘’It is always exciting to play cricket in this part of the world,’’ Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said ahead of the tournament.
Tamim added that they need to be aware of getting past the mental hurdle to get over the line this time after being finalist on two occasions.
Whether Tigers can clinch the trophy or being eliminated from the first round is yet to be determined but one thing is for sure they are one of the teams eyeing to clinch the trophy unlike the past when they were just spectators in 1986.
