Champions arrive amid festivity

After becoming the country's first team to win the ACC U-19 Asia Cup, Bangladesh under-19 cricket team arrived in the country yesterday amid much fanfare.

The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, clad in lights from a day before due to Independence Day celebrations, welcomed the young Tigers home as the champions received a fitting reception.

Bangladesh speedster Ebadot Hossain was observed recording videos from the Academy Ground rooftop, enthusiastically capturing the moments as the players turned up at the venue.

Earlier, a few kids from age group level had been eagerly awaiting their return. Once allowed to meet the players, one of the kids could be heard telling Ashiqur Rahman Shibli, centurion of the final, that the Asia Cup triumph will not be enough. "We need the World Cup, bhaiya," he said.

At the press conference, captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby spoke to reporters with BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury in attendance.

Asked what it feels like, Rabby said that responsibility has peaked with the win. "We became Asia Cup champions for the first time, so it's a big achievement for us," he said at the press conference yesterday.

Rabby bestowed praise on the coaching staff, in particular head coach Stuart Law and batting coach Wasim Jaffar. "We have Stuart Law sir and Wasim Jaffar sir and we got very good tips from them, especially in regards to how to come back from difficult situations and stay strong mentally," the skipper said.

Asked how they achieved their target, Rabby revealed that they took things match by match, instead of focusing on the final goal.

Shibli, who struck the ton in the final to get the U-19s to a big score, credited team spirit as the key to their success.

"We won't win through individual performance or become champions if there is no bonding. Our team bonding made us champions," Shibli said.

The team had not been doing too well before the Asia Cup. However, a quadrangular series in November involving England U19s, India A and B teams in India -- where they won just one game out of six -- had prepared them well.

"The tournament in India was very competitive. We improved from there and that's why we did well in the Asia Cup," Rabby said.

The U-19 World Cup in January remains their biggest target at the moment. Winning an Asia Cup might not make them great players but it can be the stepping stone for big things to come; given that winning builds confidence.

"The World Cup is ahead of us and because of this [achievement] our responsibility has increased. We took very good preparation for the World Cup from the Asia Cup.

"Everyone's in good touch and if we can keep being consistent, we would be able to achieve something good from the World Cup," Rabby said.

The team has shown calibre and strong mentally to read situations. The World Cup training camp will start in Dhaka before they depart for South Africa on January 1.

"We will have a week-long camp in South Africa before the Under-19 World Cup, to give our boys time to adjust with conditions," BCB game development manager, Abu Emam Mohammad Kawsar, informed.

A World Cup will be big in terms of handling the pressure situations, but winning a first Asia Cup with great team bonding can now see the youngsters take a leap of faith in their abilities in the tough African conditions that await them.