To me, it doesn't matter how good you are. Sport is all about playing and competing. Whatever you do in cricket and in sport, enjoy it, be positive and try to win.
Bangladesh have drafted opening batsman Imrul Kayes into the squad for the Asia Cup in place of Tamim Iqbal, who has opted out due to the imminent birth of his first child. This is the only change from Bangladesh's World T20 squad that was announced earlier this month.
Imrul's last international appearance for Bangladesh came at home against Zimbabwe last month in a four-match T20I series. He scored 1 and 18 in the third and fourth matches, which Zimbabwe won to level the series 2-2. He had made his comeback to the T20I squad against Zimbabwe in November after a gap of nearly four years. He had a successful run for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League 2015-16, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 312 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 114.70.
The Asia Cup 2016 starts from February 19, with a qualifying round between Afghanistan, UAE, Hong Kong and Oman. The winner of the qualifying round will join the four Full Member teams in the region for the main draw which starts from February 24. Bangladesh play their first match of the tournament on February 24 against India.
Bangladesh Asia Cup squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan Source by : espncricinfo
Twenty20 captain Lasith Malinga, vice-captain Angelo Mathews and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara are back from injury for Sri Lanka,for the Asia Cup and the World T20 that follows. All three players were included in the identical 15-man squads named for both tournaments. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who had missed Sri Lanka's three-match T20 series in India, also made a return. Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has also been named, while the likes of Lahiru Thirimanne and Danushka Gunathilaka missed out. Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, offspinning allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya, and seam-bowling allrounder Dasun Shanaka find places in the squads, but Seekkuge Prasanna and Kasun Rajitha - who played in the recent T20 series in India - have been overlooked. The spin-bowling contingent features Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Vandersay, while Milinda Siriwardana's left-arm spin and Jayasuriya's offspin is also available. The seam attack is spearheaded by captain Malinga; Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera and Thisara Perera are in tow. On the batting front, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mathews provide experience to the top seven, but the XI also looks likely to feature batsmen as yet unproven in this format. Shanaka and Jayasuriya have played four and five T20 internationals respectively, and even Dinesh Chandimal has not established himself in the format yet, averaging less than 15 in 28 T20 international innings. Dickwella, 22, has also played only two T20 internationals, and did not break through to double figures in those outings. He will be among those contending to partner Dilshan at the top of the order, with Kusal Perera suspended due to a doping charge. Dickwella is coming off strong domestic season, having hit 189 runs at a strike rate of 173.39, in six innings, during the recent Super T20 Provincial Tournament. Thirimanne had played a significant role in the previous World T20 campaign, even top-scoring in the semi-final against West Indies, but the paucity of his recent Test results has seemingly seen him fall out of favour with the selectors. He had,however, averaged more than 43 in ODIs last year - though he did not play T20 internationals. The selectors have also backed the experience of Herath, despite mild concerns over his fielding. With Malinga, Kulasekara and Senanayake also in the squad, much of the bowling unit that had been vital to Sri Lanka's 2014 World T20 victory, remains in place. Dilhara Fernando, who played his first international match since 2012 in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, does not find a place. Sri Lanka begin their Asia Cup defence in Mirpur on February 25, and their World T20 campaign starts in Kolkata, on March 17. Source by : espncricinfo
MS Dhoni: "l will try to give everybody a game because it is something as important as playing with a settled team."
India's limited-overs captain MS Dhoni has all but ruled himself out of batting up the order in the upcoming Asia Cup T20 and World Twenty20, starting March 8. Ahead of the team's departure to Bangladesh, Dhoni backed a stable, in-form, top order, and said that he would consider promoting a big-hitter instead of himself if there was a big partnership at the top.
"It is very difficult. In a normal scenario, I don't see myself batting up the order because of the batting line we have got," Dhoni said. This is a departure from Dhoni's recent preference of batting at No.4, though in a different format. Dhoni
had batted at No.4 in the second ODI against Bangladesh last year in Mirpur, for the first time since July 2012. Dhoni showed glimpses of his best form during the course of his 47, and later said: "I would like to bat slightly up in the order so I can play a bit more freely."
Since that match, Dhoni has batted four times at No.4 in ODIs, scoring 134 runs.
Dhoni, however, explained that the T20 batting line-up was settled, with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening; Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh form the middle order. Dhawan got bright starts against Australia in the T20s in Melbourne and Sydney and then set up India's win against Sri Lanka in the second T20 in Ranchi with a rapid fifty, his first in T20 internationals. Rohit, on his part, hit back-to-back fifties in Melbourne and Sydney, before making 43 in Ranchi.Kohli stroked three successive fifties in Australia, tallying 199 runs in the three-match T20 series, before being rested for the Sri Lanka T20s. From the middle order, Raina and Yuvraj helped India seal a clean sweep against Australia in Sydney with an unbroken 53-run partnership in a tight finish.
"Virat, he is at 3, Raina at 4, Yuvraj Singh at 5, I am 6, Jadeja, Hardik. We may try [a promotion] if there is good
partnership; we may try one of the hitters to go up and express maybe from the very first ball," Dhoni said. "But whether I see myself getting that promotion, I think it will be slightly difficult."
Dhoni also dismissed concerns about the No.6 and No.7 batting positions, feeling that they would not have much to do, especially if the top order clicked.
"As of now it [No.6 and No.7] doesn't seem like [a problem]. Usually six and seven won't or should not get an opportunity. If the team is doing well, I don't think No.6 and No.7 will or should get more than 10 balls or 12 balls and you will have to make the most," he said.
Dhoni said he was keen to "give everybody a game"' ahead of the World T20. India named the same team for all three matches in the recent home series against Sri Lanka. It meant Pawan Negi, a left-field selection for the Asia Cup and the World T20, has not played an international game yet.
"I will try to give everybody a game because it is something as important as playing with a settled team," Dhoni said. "It is important for everybody to have games under their belt. Against few of the sides we will really be able to give games to few of the other players who are part of the team but have not got a chance to play so far but still we will look to win games and that's our top priority but the conditions will allow us to give a few games to others who have not played."
Asia Cup 2016 is scheduled to begin in Bangladesh from February 24 and will run up to March 6. Here is the complete schedule of the tournament. The much-awaited India-Pakistan contest is on Feb 27 in Mirpur.
February 24, Wednesday: Bangladesh vs India 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
February 25, Thursday: Sri Lanka vs TBD 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
February 26, Friday: Bangladesh vs TBD 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
February 27, Saturday: India vs Pakistan 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
February 28, Sunday: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
February 29, Monday: Pakistan vs TBD 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
March 1, Tuesday: India vs Sri Lanka 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
March 2, Wednesday: Bangladesh vs Pakistan 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
March 3, Thursday: India vs TBD 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
March 4, Friday: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur
March 6, Sunday: Final 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT), Mirpur ______________________________ Source by | indianexpress
Afghanistan Squad / Players
Amir Hamza
Dawlat Zadran
Gulbadin Naib
Karim Sadiq
Mohammad Nabi
Mohammad Shahzad wicketkeeper
Najibullah Zadran
Rashid Khan
Samiullah Shenwari
Shafiqullah
Shapoor Zadran
Usman Ghani
Yamin Ahmadzai
Fareed Ahmad standby player
Mirwais Ashraf standby player
Najeeb Tarakai standby player
Rokhan Barakzai standby player
