Tigers off to Sri Lanka to play tri-nation trophy

Mahmudullah Riyad

A 16-member Bangladesh team, led by stand-in captain Mahmudullah Riyad, left Dhaka for Sri Lanka on Sunday afternoon to participate in the Nidahas Trophy Tri-nation T20I Tournament beginning on Tuesday (March 6) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo eyeing a spot in the final, reports UNB.

Hosts Sri Lanka will play India in the opening match from 7:30pm (local time) while Bangladesh will start their campaign taking on the hosts on Thursday (March 8) at the same time and same venue.

The tri-nation tournament involving India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is being organised to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence.

Mahmudullah, who played for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) against Multan Sultans on Saturday, reached Dhaka from Dubai on Sunday morning and accompanied the Tigers to Colombo along with Bangladesh's interim Head Coach Courtney Walsh.

But, three other cricketers of the national team -- opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, pacer Mustafizur Rahman and all-rounder Sabbir Rahman who are in Dubai to play the Pakistan Super League (PSL), will join the Tigers directly in Colombo.

Talking to reporters at the airport, Mahmudullah said, "The tri-nation tournament is a good platform to prove our worth and we're expecting to win the trophy."

Bangladesh team are likely to play a couple of preparatory matches in Colombo from March 5-7.

Bangladesh T20 captain-cum-world famed all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was ruled out of the Nidahas Trophy at the last moment as he is still nursing an injury to his left hand sustained in the final match of the tri-nation ODI home against Sri Lanka in January this year, will also fly for Colombo on Tuesday (March 10) to encourage the Tigers.

Shakib, who was replaced by batsman-cum-wicketkeeper Litton Das, is likely to fly for Australia from Colombo for better treatment.

In the absence of Shakib, all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad, who captained the Tigers in the Test and T20 home series against Sri Lanka last month, will lead the Bangladesh team again in the tri-nation tournament.

Bangladesh Squad: Mahmudullah Riyad (Captain), Tamim Iqbal Khan, Soumya Sarker, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Haider Rony, Abu Jahed Rahi, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Nazmul Islam Apu and Liton Kumar Das.