Dream on the line as Bangladesh U-19 team leave the country

Winning the title of the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup is Bangladesh's greatest achievement in cricket, if not all sports. Rakibul Hasan, one of the key members of the side, is captaining the side this time around. Three more members of that team will feature in the next Under-19 World Cup. Before that, they will participate in the Under-19 Asia Cup in the UAE.

The team, to take part in the Asia Cup, left for the UAE on Tuesday. An Emirates plane carrying the members of the team took off at 8.30 pm. Wasim Khan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) airport coordinator, confirmed the news.

Bangladesh U-19 will begin their campaign on 24 December with a match against Nepal. After the completion of the tournament, they will head to the Caribbean on January 2. Since the team has spent a lot of time in the biosecure bubble, two additional players have been included. The 17-member team left for the UAE on Tuesday. 

Rakibul and Tanzim Hasan Sakib - part of the World Cup winning U-19 squad - were not initially considered for the team. But since the team did not live up to the expectations in the home series against Afghanistan and the tour of Sri Lanka, they were picked in the triangular series in India. Bangladesh became the champions in that series. 

From the World Cup winning team, two more cricketers - SM Meherob Hasan and Prantik Nawrose Nabil - have been called up to the squad for the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

Before leaving the country, opener Iftekhar Hossain stated, "Our team is very balanced. We hope we will win the Asia Cup. We are yet to win one but everyone is confident this time."

The tournament will begin on 23 December. Bangladesh will face Nepal in their inaugural match the next day. Rakibul's side will lock horns with Kuwait and Sri Lanka on 25 and 28 December respectively. All the matches featuring Bangladesh will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The final of the tournament will take place on 31 December.