Bangladesh can deliver at Asia Cup: Mahmudullah

DHAKA: Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has said that his team can do well at Asia Cup 2018, which starts on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh start their campaign against Sri Lanka in Dubai on the opening day, a match they must win to be in front when the second group-stage game against Afghanistan takes place on September 20.

“I think we have got some good past memories against Sri Lanka from a few months back, but Sri Lanka is a very good team, and they are playing very good cricket and we have to be at our best to beat them. We have been preparing quite well, so hopefully we can deliver,” said Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh will be led by Mashrafe Mortaza, with the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmudullah the mainstays of their team.

Mahmudullah has been one of the most dependable men in the Bangladesh batting line-up, and is usually trusted with the responsibility of finishing innings.“It always feels good to contribute to the team if the team is winning it feels even better,” he said.

“I will try to keep it simple and try and contribute as much as I can.”Bangladesh reached the final of the 50-over Asia Cup in 2012 and the T20 version in 2016, both times at home before losing to Pakistan and India respectively.

This time, they will want to go one better, for which they must get the better of Sri Lanka to start with.“To be honest, I think all the teams are playing very good cricket at the moment, every team is very important and we can’t afford to be relaxed, and we need to take it game by game so that we can do well in the first stage,” added Mahmudullah.