Bangladesh T20 captain Liton said their ‘ultimate dream’ would be to go all the way in the Asia Cup as the Tigers left for the UAE to take part in Asia’s biggest cricket extravaganza on Sunday.Ìý
The T20 format continental tournament is scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28.Ìý
Bangladesh, who are slotted in Group B with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong, will begin their campaign against Hong Kong on September 11 in Abu Dhabi.
'Mission Asia Cup 2025 begins! Seeking prayers from the best supporters in the world for me and my team,’ Liton wrote on his social media pages while posting a photo of himself before leaving.Ìý
Earlier, he said that the preparation for the Asia Cup was as good as it got. Now he shared his ultimate dream.
‘We promise to give our very best in the UAE—taking it one match at a time—with the ultimate dream of lifting the trophy,’ said Liton.
The team left Dhaka in two groups, as the first one flew at 10:15am while the second one left at 7:30am.Ìý
Bangladesh will have to topple at least two of their opponents in terms of booking a place in the next phase of the tournament, the Super Four.Ìý
Middle-order batter Jaker Ali also echoed his captain.
‘Of course we believe wholeheartedly that [we can be the champion]; we’re going with that mentality. The environment in the dressing room has been fantastic always,’ Jaker told the reporters at the airport.Ìý
Bangladesh are on a winning streak as they beat Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Netherlands in three consecutive series. They also had a lengthy preparation camp before the Netherlands series.Ìý
‘Our preparation is fantastic: from the fitness [camp] to the Netherlands series. We’re hoping for something good in the Asia Cup,’ said Jaker.Ìý
However, Jaker reminded everyone that they needed to take on the tournament step by step.
‘We will try to do well step by step, as we have prepared ourselves well. If you consider the overall picture, our main goal is to become champions,’ he said. ‘We want to give [our fans] a good tournament by playing well every step of the way.’Ìý
Bangladesh played some memorable cricket in the Asia Cup T20. They were runners-up in the 2016 edition.
However, some pundits and analysts, like India’s Akash Chopra and Sri Lanka’s Russell Arnold, haven’t put them in the list of teams who will go through the next phase. But Jaker didn’t want to focus on that.Ìý
‘We don’t have anything to respond to. We will play our cricket, our best cricket,’ he said when his attention was drawn to the issue.Ìý
Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on September 13 and 16, respectively. All their matches will be in Abu Dhabi.Ìý
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