Sri Lanka begin campaign to defend Asia Cup title

Bangladesh Captain Shakib Al Hasan in conversation with Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha during practice at Pallekele Stadium.

Sri Lanka Captain Dasun Shanaka has a chat with Head Coach Chris Silverwood during practice at Pallekele Stadium.

• Take on Bangladesh in night game at Pallekele today
• We have a pretty good side that can challenge all the teams – Shanaka

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Injury-hit Sri Lanka will have their bench strength tested to the hilt when they open their campaign to defend the Asia Cup with a Group B night match against Bangladesh at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today.

Missing from Sri Lanka’s line up are two match-winning bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga and along with them fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madushanka while top order batsman Kusal Perera is still recuperating after being tested COVID-19 positive.

“We cannot stop players from getting injured, unfortunately it has happened to us,” said Sri Lanka’s white ball Captain Dasun Shanaka at the pre-match media briefing. “It’s very unfortunate to miss out on players like Hasaranga, Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka.”

“The last time we went as underdogs but still clinched the trophy. We lost the first game against Afghanistan. When the pressure is more we have performed well as a team. We have players to perform, if you take the batsmen we have an experienced line-up. I am confident that with this side we can make progress. We have a pretty good side that can challenge all the teams.”

Evaluating their opponents, Shanaka said, “We have not played with Bangladesh in an ODI for quite some time (they last met in 2021) but we know how they play their cricket as an Asian nation, who their key players are and how they confront pace and spin. Not having Hasaranga in the line-up is a big loss, but the team has not lost confidence because of his absence. We know that he will be fit for the World Cup. What we have to do is to make the best use of the players that we have at the moment and try and win.”

Bangladesh Captain Shakib Al Hasan was wary of the challenges that his team faced against Sri Lanka.

“We like to win by playing good cricket but having said that playing in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka won’t be easy,” said Shakib. “It has been said that most teams are looking at this tournament as a preparation for the World Cup but the Asia Cup is not a small tournament, it is a big one. It has history, it has had some great games and it is a very important tournament. We are taking this tournament very seriously and if we can do well here, it could give us confidence in the build up towards the World Cup.”

Bangladesh also suffered an injury blow when their experienced wicket-keeper/batsman Liton Das was ruled out of the Asia Cup with a viral fever.  

“Liton will be a big miss. He was part of this team for the last 4-5 years and he has been playing very well consistently in the last couple of years. But this will give someone else an opportunity. I hope that whoever gets the opportunity will grab it with both hands,” said Shakib.

One of the players Bangladesh will be looking forward to performing with the bat is young Towhid Hridoy who played in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Kings and made some useful contributions.

“Towhid is playing really well. He had a very good LPL and that should give him a lot of confidence. We hope the way he has started he will be able to continue for Bangladesh cricket for a long time,” Shakib said.