Sports Reporter :
Bangladesh National Cricket (T20I) team left the city on Wednesday night for Pakistan to play three Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket matches against their counterpart Pakistan in Lahore of Pakistan.
Bangladesh will take on Pakistan in the first T20I on January 24, face Pakistan in second T20I on January 25 and meet Pakistan in the third and last T20I on January 27. All the matches begin at 3.00 PM (Bangladesh Standard Time). After playing three T20I cricket matches, Bangladesh team will return home and then Bangladesh (Test) team will play two Test matches against their counterpart Pakistan and Bangladesh (ODI) team will play a lone ODI against Pakistan in Pakistan.
Before leaving the city for Pakistan, Captain of Bangladesh team Mahmudullah Riyad said to the newsmen, “According to the latest ICC T20I ranking we are in the ninth spot, while Pakistan are in the top spot. But we showed satisfactory performance in the last couple of series and my teammates played well in the recently concluded Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL). So, we shall present something special to the cricket lovers of the country. I hope we shall win the series.”
Riyad said, ” Pakistan performed not up to the mark in the recently concluded series. They lost to Sri Lanka recently.”
He said, ” If our boys keep their rhythm in the upcoming series, it will not be impossible to win the series.”
The skipper said, ” Those who have got chance in the squad, I am very happy with them. They showed superb performance in BBPL. I am confident with my team.”
He said, ” Tamim Iqbal and I have to play special role as most of our teammates are youngsters. Tamim has returned to his own rhythm and performed well in BBPL. His performance in top order is an important matter for our team.”
Bangladesh T20I squad: Mahmudullah Riyad (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Moammad Naim, Najmul Hossain, Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.
