U19s aim to reach final of Asia Cup

With the aim to reach the final, Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team team boarded the flight for the UAE on Wednesday to take part in the ACC Men's Under-19 Asia Cup starting on December 8. 

Skipper Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby and his troops will begin their campaign on December 9 against the hosts at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. They will then face Japan on December 11 and cap off their group stage fixtures with an encounter against Sri Lanka on December 13.

Age-level selector and former cricketer Hannan Sarkar who accompanied the team informed that the team aims to reach the final of the tournament.

"Since we are in the group with UAE, Japan and Sri Lanka, we expect to reach the semi-final. We need to play good cricket in order to reach the final and hopefully we are up for the challenge," Hannan told The Daily Star before boarding the plane on Wednesday.

The U-19s finished third in the recently concluded quadrangular series in India. According to Hannan, the performance of the upcoming Asia Cup will help them to form the final squad for the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in January.

"Around 12-13 players in the squad have been playing together for the past one and a half years and there are quite a few of them who have played over twenty ODIs. We will keep a close eye on their performances in this tournament which will help us to form the final squad for the upcoming U-19 World Cup in South Africa," Hannan said.