Bangladesh will send a full-strength T20 side to the upcoming Asian Games after seeing regional rivals India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka name several established international players in their squads.
The Bangladesh team, led by Litton Das, includes key national stars such as Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Bangladesh had initially planned to send an HP squad to the tournament.
Bangladesh assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin said the decision changed after other nations opted to field stronger teams.
“Initially, we planned to send an HP team. But when we saw other countries sending their full national sides, we thought, why shouldn't we? I think it will be a challenging tournament.”
“Looking at our schedule, I believe we have a very good chance of reaching the final if we play well.”
India are set to field a formidable squad under Shreyas Iyer, featuring Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also included national-team players.
Bangladesh, however, face the challenge of returning to T20 rhythm after spending the past few months focused primarily on Test and ODI cricket.
“We haven't played much T20 cricket in the last few series. The biggest challenge for the players will be how quickly we can get back the rhythm we had three or four months ago,” Salahuddin said.
The men's cricket event begins on September 24, with Bangladesh playing their opening match on September 28. Based on the tournament format, Bangladesh could face Hong Kong or Oman in the quarter-finals.
Salahuddin made it clear that Bangladesh will travel with only one objective- winning gold.
“When you get the opportunity to represent Bangladesh, you cannot take it lightly. The whole country will be looking at us to perform well. Since we are competing, there is no alternative to thinking about becoming champions. We hope both our men's and women's teams will perform well and bring home medals.”
