Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is confident on his team and also believes that they can win the upcoming 2018 Asia Cup in UAE if they perform well.
Mortaza believes all the teams are mostly in the same line and every team has the chance to win this tournament. While Mortaza has chosen India as the favourite team in this competition, he also said that Pakistan and they are not much behind of India.
Also read: Brett Lee Backs Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan For Asia Cup
In the 2018 Asia Cup, Bangladesh is seeded in the Group B with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan while India, Pakistan and Hong Kong (the Qualifier champions) will fight in the Group A.
Also read: Hong Kong To Play India and Pakistan in Asia Cup 2018
Bangladesh will play the opening game of the tournament against Sri Lanka on September 15. They will play their next game in the Group Stages against Afghanistan on September 20.
Mashrafe said on Thursday, “We are not so far from the other team. I think India has a good chance (to win the title), and Pakistan will play at their home-like ground. So, they also have the opportunity (to clinch the trophy). But I want to say that, we have the ability to beat them too. We have to see if we can make the Super Four by playing good cricket in the group phase.”
Also read: Hasan Ali Wants To Dismiss Virat Kohli Whenever They Meet Next
Mortaza has also reminded that it will be a tougher tournament them due to having lack of experiences as a team in the UAE conditions. However, he still believes in his team.
The Bangladesh captain added, “If everything goes in the right way, we won’t be so far from other teams. We may have to face the tough situation on many occasions. Because we did not play in UAE as a team before. So, the condition will not be easy for us. Overall, we are thinking from every angle.”
In the last T20 Asia Cup that was organised by Bangladesh in 2016, the hosts finished as runners-up after losing the final against India. Coming to the ODI Asia Cup history, Bangladesh has the best record in 2012 where they had finished as runners-up after losing the thrilling final against Pakistan by just 2 runs.
