Bangladesh U-19 brim with confidence to do well in WC

DHAKA  - Bangladesh Under-19 team, who is the defending champions of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup stayed upbeat to bring a

laurel for the country again.

   The Under-19 team, led by Rakibul Hasan, will leave the country tomorrow
to play the World Cup in West Indies in January. Before that they will take
the preparation for the event by playing Under-19 Asia Cup tournament in
Sharjah, UAE. The tournament will run from December 23 to 31.

   As all of the title aspirants like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri
Lanka will play this tournament, the U19 Asia Cup is considered as a perfect
preparation campaign for Bangladesh.

   But what made Bangladesh confident to win both World Cup and Asia Cup is
their recent performance in India where they played a triangular tournament
involving India A and B team and emerged as champions. Most of the players of
India A and B team made their way to the main Indian team for the Under-19
World Cup.

   "It is really nice to win matches against India at their own den. We beat
India A and B team and won the trophy. That gave us a confidence," Rakibul
said ahead of leaving the country.

   "But in the World Cup we have to face off many good teams apart from
India. We are prepared for all teams. We will try to come up with our best
performance and retain the World Cup trophy," he added.

   Last time Bangladesh went to World Cup, playing a lot of tournaments and
bilateral series but this time Covid-19 deprived them from playing an
expected practice session and cricket game.

   Rakibul rued for the lack of matches but said still they are confident
about their chances.

   "Covid-19 not only hampered our preparation but also hampered the
preparation of all teams. We tried to play a lot of cricket in the last
several months. Hopefully we won't face any problem," he said.BSS