Good luck, Tigers!

The Asia Cup 2022 is beginning today, hosted by Sri Lanka in the UAE. It returns to the T20 format this year and a total of six teams -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong -- are featuring in the 15th edition of the tournament. Just before the tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as the new T20I captain of team Bangladesh.

Although we are a weak team in this format, Shakib's recruitment as skipper has generated much enthusiasm among fans. The all-rounder has, however, told people not to expect too much soon, clarifying that neither he nor any one person can bring about immediate changes.

Bangladesh have been placed with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in the Group B, which is considered the group of death. If we can beat both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the group stage, we will go to the next stage. Either India or Pakistan are expected to meet us there. So, we will have to give our best to reach the finals. For this, the Tigers have to play much better than they played in the past. Although Bangladesh have not won a single Asia Cup title so far, we have been the runner-ups of the tournament three times in the last four editions in 2012, 2016 and 2018.

We often consider big teams as the favourites to win a tournament, however, sometimes teams like Bangladesh can steal the show with their surprising performance. As fans, we are eagerly waiting to watch those surprises.

Mamun Hossain Agun,

Student of Department of Political Science,

Dhaka College, Dhaka,

[email protected]