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The ICC Under 19 World Cup is all set to kick off on 14 January 2022, with hosts West Indies facing off against Australia in the tournament opener.

The defending champions Bangladesh were comfortable winners in their most recent warm-up game against Zimbabwe, with their opening Group A game coming against England in St Kitts and Nevis on Sunday.

Rakibul Hasan, who was a member of the successful 2020 squad, claimed that the team is beginning to acclimate to the Caribbean conditions.

He finished as Bangladesh's top wicket-taker in the tournament with 12 wickets at an average of 10.16. He has already played more than 30 professional matches at senior level across formats, and will hope to help Bangladesh defend the title this year.

“The conditions in St Kitts are not that tough, we have been here for two weeks now, so we have adjusted to the conditions and also playing two practice games is good preparation for us, so we are looking forward to playing England and hopefully we can get off to a good start,” Rakibul said in ICC. 

“We are focused on our game, yes we are defending champions, but we are looking forward to our game, so we are focused on that and how well we prepare ourselves for the upcoming game and how we can get to the next stage of the competition,”

Bangladesh senior team have won a Test match this month for the first time in foreign soil as the Tigers finished two match series 1-1 against New Zealand. The young Tiger captain seek inspiration from the historic performance.  

“Our senior team has done well in New Zealand which is inspiration for us, so hopefully we will do well in the tournament,” he added.

Competition in Group A, Group B and Group C will begin on 15 January with games between Canada and UAE, India and South Africa, and Pakistan and PNG respectively.

Trinidad and Tobago will host the Plate competition between 25 and 31 January while the Super League action will commence on 26 January in Antigua and Barbuda.

The two semi-finals will be played on 1 and 2 February at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground and Coolidge Cricket Ground respectively. The Final will be played on 5 February at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

BANGLADESH

Squad