Hosts Bangladesh launch their World Twenty20 campaign with a tricky opener against Afghanistan at Mirpur on Sunday.
The burden of expectation hangs heavy as they are yet to win a match in the tournament since 2007 but captain Mushfiqur Rahim believes his team can put it aside and carve out a win.
Rahim said: “I don’t think there is a lot of pressure on us. There is always going to be pressure at the international level. The Bangladesh team has earned this expectation and pressure for playing well in the last two years.
“We hope to perform up to expectations. Along with pressure, we have the home ground and support. I hope that with all these advantages, we can start off with a win.”
The task may not be that easy as Afghanistan are no pushovers. They proved it with a stunning victory over Bangladesh in the 50-over Asia Cup earlier this month.
Besides, many of Afghanistan’s players have first-hand experience of the conditions in Bangladesh, having played in the premier division of the Dhaka Premier League.
“We prefer T20 cricket to ODIs. Anything can happen in T20 matches,” said captain Mohammad Nabi. “We are not targeting anything. We will play our natural game.
“We will try hard to beat Bangladesh,” he added.
Nepal and Hong Kong form the other two teams in Group A, and they aren’t expected to pose a serious threat to Bangladesh or Afghanistan, so this effectively translates into a knockout fixture of sorts even at this early stage of the tournament.
Nepal and Hong Kong play the second match of the day in Chittagong on Sunday. (starting at 17:30).
