Bangladesh to Begin T20 World Cup Campaign Against Sri Lanka

The Bangladesh cricket team is set to kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka next Saturday at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

Despite a shaky batting lineup, the Tigers are determined to start the tournament with a win against Sri Lanka. The match will begin at 6:30 AM Bangladesh time.

Although Bangladesh has performed disappointingly prior to the T20 World Cup, the team appears to be quite confident. They faced criticism after losing a series to the ICC associate member, the USA, and then suffered a heavy defeat to India in a warm-up match.

Based on recent performances, Bangladesh does not seem to be a team likely to advance to the next round of the T20 World Cup. However, Sri Lanka’s poor performance in their first match against South Africa has given the Tigers some hope.

In that match, Sri Lanka struggled to adapt to the slow wicket and were bowled out for just 77 runs. Bangladesh’s main issue is their batting, but their bowlers have performed impressively, causing problems for the opposition batters. This is why the slow wicket is boosting Bangladesh’s confidence.

The wicket at Grand Prairie in Dallas and New York bears similarities to the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium wicket. Bangladesh will rely heavily on the wicket to defeat Sri Lanka.

After Sri Lanka’s dismal performance in their first match, the wicket is considered to be of poor quality. Sri Lanka has even criticized the pitch. Nevertheless, Bangladesh needs to create new history. Bangladesh began their T20 World Cup journey in the inaugural edition in 2007. In that tournament held in South Africa, the Tigers secured a historic victory against the West Indies in their first match.

That win against the West Indies remains Bangladesh’s only victory against a major team. In the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia, the Tigers won three matches, the highest number of wins in a single tournament for Bangladesh, but those wins were against smaller teams.

Bangladesh has faced Sri Lanka 16 times in the shorter format, winning 5 and losing 11 of those matches. Among the major teams, Bangladesh has the most wins against Sri Lanka, which provides extra motivation for the Tigers.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said, “We are not thinking about what happened before. We know our capabilities. We have to be brave and execute our plans.”

In Group D, besides Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will also face South Africa, Nepal, and the Netherlands. To advance to the next round, Bangladesh must defeat at least one of the major teams, either Sri Lanka or South Africa.

While Shanto aims to play fearless cricket, experienced batter Mahmudullah Riyad believes a good start in the tournament will boost the team’s confidence. He said, “Everything depends on how we start the tournament. We need to start well. If we start well, I believe we will go far.”

On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be under pressure. If they fail to defeat Bangladesh, their path to the next round will become significantly more difficult, relying on various uncertainties.

Sri Lanka captain Hasaranga de Silva believes his team will overcome the pressure to defeat Bangladesh in this crucial match.

Bangladesh will be confident with the return of pacer Taskin Ahmed, who missed the series against the USA and the warm-up match due to a side strain injury. However, they will be without another top pacer, Shariful Islam, who was injured while bowling in the warm-up match against India.

Bangladesh Squad