Islamabad: Pakistan's 15-member national cricket team left for Bangladesh late on Wednesday night to participate in the upcoming Asia Cup 2012 scheduled to start in Mirpur on March 11.
The Pakistani squad led, by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, along with newly-appointed head coach Dav Whatmore, will play Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and defending champions India in the four-nation Asian Championship.
Misbah, talking to media, admitted that the team didn't perform well against England in limited overs games, but he hoped for a better performance from the players in the Asia Cup and promised that "we shall try not to repeat mistakes".
"Victory in the first two matches is very important to boost the team morale, our team is balanced and hope to win the event," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Hundreds of cricket fans were present to see off the players when the team and their officials reached the airport in the Southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan will play the inaugural match of the mega event against the hosts on March 11 before taking on Sri Lanka and India March 15 and 18 respectively.
Big game
The match between arch-rivals Pakistan and India will catch all the eyeballs as both teams now rarely play against each other.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made some quick changes in the national team and their management after the whitewash in the One Day Internationals (ODI) and 1-2 loss in the T20 series against England in the UAE last month.
Left-hand opener Imran Farhat, former captain Shoaib Malek and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal were all dropped from the squad.
