Bangladesh will be looking to leave behind their recent injury issues and make a winning start in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup when they take on Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today.
The match is scheduled to start at 03:30pm (BST) and will be telecast live on T Sports.
The Tigers, who confirmed their Super Four berth after clinching a dominating 89-run win over Afghanistan in their last Group B match on Sunday, suffered a fresh injury blow a day before the Pakistan game when in-form batter Najmul Hossain Shanto was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
The left-hander, who scored 89 and 104 runs in the group games against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan respectively, felt some discomfort in his left hamstring during his innings against Afghanistan.
An MRI was performed on Monday of the affected area and as part of a precaution, the team management decided to send Shanto home so that he can start his rehab and prepare for the upcoming World Cup.
Before coming into the tournament, Bangladesh lost two regular players Tamim Iqbal and Ebadot Hossain due to separate injury issues while opener Liton Das missed the opening two games after failing to recover completely from viral fever illness.
However, the wicketkeeper-batsman on Tuesday joined the team in Lahore, Pakistan on Tuesday after completing a full recovery and he is also expected to feature in Bangladesh’s game against Pakistan today.
Ahead of the match, Bangladeshi players opted to cancel their regular training activities and spent their time in the team hotel on Tuesday as there was scorching heat in Lahore.
Meanwhile, Pakistani players completed a practice session at the match venue on Tuesday on the eve of their Super Four opener against Bangladesh.
Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah, who took four wickets in two games so far in the tournament, said that they were focusing more on their first game and not looking too far ahead.
“There are still a few days before the India game. Our focus is on tomorrow’s game, whoever it is against. Our focus is to play our best cricket here and go to Sri Lanka with a win. We will see about the game versus India when it is closer,” he said.
“The conditions differ in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We have gotten used to Sri Lankan conditions because of the Test series and the Lanka Premier League. Pakistan conditions are slightly different.
“You have to be disciplined in one-day cricket, no matter where you are playing, as a bowling unit, you have to produce disciplined bowling, no matter what kind of wicket it is. We are aware of both these places, so we do our best to adjust well,” Naseem added.
Source: The Daily SUN.