Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
The Bangladesh national cricket team left Dhaka for India on Wednesday to take part in the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place from October 5 to November 19.
Bangladesh will begin their campaign for the tournament against Afghanistan on October 7 in Dharamshala.
Before leaving the country, the discussions still revolved around the omission of opener Tamim Iqbal from the World Cup squad.
However, national team director Khaled Mahmud stressed that they needed to look forward to their betterment in the upcoming competition.
‘What happened has happened. Someone will be overlooked while someone else will be included in the set-up. We have started a new day. I believe that the boys will be confident,’ Mahmud told reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport prior to their departure for India on Wednesday.
Given Bangladesh’s recent 2-0 series loss to New Zealand, the former Bangladesh national team captain emphasised the importance of regrouping for the approaching showpiece event.
‘We know that we had a poor outing in the New Zealand series. Many of the main squad players didn’t feature in the series. However, the World Cup is a different stage,’ he said.
As part of their preparation for the global meet, the Tigers will take part in two warm-up games, one against Sri Lanka on Friday and the second and final one against defending champions England on October 2.
Both matches will be played at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Mahmud believed that the two practice games would help them prepare well for the tournament proper.
‘We are getting time before the World Cup. We have two practice matches to regroup. We have a dream, and it is significant to implement it,’ he said.
