The Young Tigers left Dhaka for South Africa on January 3, under the leadership of wicket-keeper batsman Akbar Ali, to play in the 13th edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup’ 2020.
They will play their 2nd warm-up match against New Zealand on Wednesday (Jan 15) at St John’s College ground in Johannesburg.
Bangladesh team made a good 10-day camp in South Africa for adoption with local condition before the world cup starts.
Sixteen teams, split in the four groups, will initially participate in the ICC U-19 global meet scheduled for South Africa from January 17 to February 9 with hosts South Africa taking on Afghanistan in the opening match on January 17 at Diamond Oval in Kimberley.
Holders India, Japan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are placed in Group A, Australia, England, Nigeria and West Indies are in Group B. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland and Zimbabwe are in Group C while Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates are in Group D.
In Group C matches, Bangladesh will play Zimbabwe in the first match on January 18 at Senwas Park in Potchefstroom in South Africa before taking on Scotland on January 21 at Witrand Cricket field in Potchefstroom and Pakistan on January 24 at Senwas Park in Potchefstroom.
After the group matches, top two teams of each group will qualify for the Super League (quarter-finals) while the bottom two teams will have to play in Plate stage (quarter-finals).
The winners of Super League (quarter-finals) will advance to the semifinals while the winners of the Plate (quarter-finals) will qualify for the Plate semifinals.
In a pre-tournament press conference in Johannesburg on Saturday, Bangladesh captain Akbar Ai said, “Our well balanced team, decorated with lot of talented players, have a good chance to move up to the top level of the tournament.”
“We focus is to qualify for the knock-out stage of the world cup and it is a good platform for us to display our talents and skills,” he said.
Akbar Ali went on saying “We have the ability to go all the way in the World Cup if we manage to apply themselves properly in the field and our cricketers are eager to display their worth.”
Bangladesh did well in New Zealand and England tours in 2019. The recent international tours also helped the boys to get more experienced.