Tigers to take on Sri Lanka tomorrow in first warm-up game

DHAKA  - Bangladesh will face off Sri Lanka in the

first official practice game tomorrow (Tuesday), organized by the ICC
as part of the preparation of the teams for the upcoming Twenty20
World Cup.

The match will start at 8 pm as per Bangladesh Time at ADC Oval 2 in Abu Dhabi.

The Tigers however reached Abu Dhabi from Oman just on Sunday. They
had a day of practice on Monday in a bid to prepare them for the
warm-up game.

After playing against Sri Lanka, they will take on Ireland for their
second and last official practice game on Thursday.

Bangladesh who had set up a conditioning camp in Oman, played a
practice game against Oman A team earlier. They compiled a staggering
207-4 and won the game eventually by 60 runs.

Captain Mahmudullah Riyad missed that practice game due to his back
injury. However the team management is yet to confirm whether
Mahmudullah would be part of the first practice game tomorrow.

There is also concern about ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan who is yet
to join the team bubble despite staying in United Arab Emirates (UAE)
for his IPL commitments. Shakib’s team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
would play an Eliminator game against Royal Challengers Bangalore
(RCB) this night. If they win the game, they would keep the hopes of
playing IPL final alive. The IPL final is on Friday.

Fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who also played IPL for Rajasthan
Royals had already joined the team. Both Shakib and Mustafizur were
given NOC (No Objection Certificate) to play IPL till October 9. The
team management is yet to clear whether Shakib’s NOC was extended.

After playing those two practice matches, Bangladesh will travel back
to Oman for their Round 1 phase.

Mahmudullah and his troop will start their mission, taking on Scotland
on October 17 after which they will face off hosts Oman on October 19
and Papua New Guinea on October 21. It is expected that they won’t
face any stern challenges from this sides and would effortlessly
qualify for the Super 12s.

The Tigers so far played 25 matches in the World Cup of this shortest
version of cricket and won just five -- four of which came in the
qualifying round. They won only one match against West Indies in the
tournament proper.

Squad: Mahmudullah Riyad (Captain), Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, Liton
Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan
Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful
Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Patwari, Rubel
Hossain.BSS