We believe we can win Asia Cup, says Jaker Ali

Bangladesh middle order batter Jaker Ali Anik was unfazed by the outside talk as he believes his side is capable of clinching the Asia Cup trophy, that eluded them thrice, reports BSS.
The Tigers go into the regional tournament, high on confidence following their victory in the past three T20 series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Netherlands.
But that was still not enough to win the Asia Cup which will be held in the T20 format this year, according to former Indian cricketer and cricket analyst Akash Chopra.
Recently, on his YouTube channel Chopra said that Bangladesh might play excellent cricket of late and boasted with several match winners but still they are highly likely to be eliminated from the group stage of the Asia Cup.
"There is nothing to answer to anyone," Jaker said while his attention was drawn to Chopra's comment.
"We will play our best cricket. We all believe, we are going with that (champion) mindset."
Jaker along with other Bangladesh cricketers --captain Liton Das, Saif Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shamim Patwari left the country for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today at 10.15 AM with the first batch.
The next batch of cricketers will fly to the UAE at 7:30 AM on the same day (Sunday).
Bangladesh will also start their practice tomorrow in Abu Dhabi where they will play all of their three group matches against Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Bangladeshi cricketers had fitness and skill sessions in the country since the beginning of August. Later, they won the three-match T20 series against the Netherlands by 2-0.
Overall, Jaker expressed satisfaction with their preparations before the Asia Cup, saying, "Our preparations have been very good. Starting from fitness to the Netherlands series, the preparations have been good. The mood in the dressing room is also good as always."
Power-hitting expert coach Julian Wood was brought to Bangladesh's Asia Cup preparation camp to hone cricketers' power-hitting skills. Jaker believes that the special session with Wood will come in handy, adding that they need to play an aggressive brand of cricket.
"We have to play an aggressive brand of cricket. We have to play with the same mindset on the big stage. Obviously we'll follow the basics but the intent should always be aggressive."