Bangladesh will face off Sri Lanka in the first official practice game today, organized by the ICC as part of the preparation of the teams for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup.
The match will start at 8 pm as per Bangladesh Time at ADC Oval 2 in Abu Dhabi. The Tigers however reached Abu Dhabi from Oman just on Sunday. They had a day of practice on Monday in a bid to prepare them for the warm-up game.
After playing against Sri Lanka, they will take on Ireland for their second and last official practice game on Thursday.
Bangladesh who had set up a conditioning camp in Oman, played a practice game against Oman A team earlier. They compiled a staggering 207-4 and won the game eventually by 60 runs.
Captain Mahmudullah Riyad missed that practice game due to his back injury. However, the team management is yet to confirm whether Mahmudullah would be part of the first practice game tomorrow.
There is also concern about ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan who is yet to join the team bubble despite staying in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his IPL commitments. Shakib’s team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would play an Eliminator game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this night. If they win the game, they would keep the hopes of playing IPL final alive. The IPL final is on Friday.
Fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who also played IPL for Rajasthan Royals had already joined the team. Both Shakib and Mustafizur were given NOC (No Objection Certificate) to play IPL till October 9. The team management is yet to clear whether Shakib’s NOC was extended.
After playing those two practice matches, Bangladesh will travel back to Oman for their Round 1 phase.
Mahmudullah and his troop will start their mission, taking on Scotland on October 17 after which they will face off hosts Oman on October 19 and Papua New Guinea on October 21. It is expected that they won’t face any stern challenges from this sides and would effortlessly qualify for the Super 12s.
The Tigers so far played 25 matches in the World Cup of this shortest version of cricket and won just five — four of which came in the qualifying round. They won only one match against West Indies in the tournament proper.
