Dubai: While top teams and key players have opted to skip the 17th Asian Games, a keen contest for the gold medal between Bangladesh and Afghanistan is in the offing. Bangladesh had beaten Afghanistan to the gold medal in the last Asian Games in Guangzhou in an intense battle in the final.
Sri Lanka are also competing in the tournament with a squad made up of top performers in their domestic Twenty20 competition.
Bangladesh would have fielded all their top stars but for the team’s ongoing tour of West Indies while Afghanistan are also not full strength as the top players are participating in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) High Performance tour in Australia as preparation for their 2015 World Cup.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was supposed to have led the squad but would not be available as he is getting married during the Asian Games period — leaving the mantle on Mashrafe Mortaza.
A gold medal can boost the sagging spirit of the cricket lovers in the Bangladesh after their team had put up a poor show in the last ICC Twenty20 World Cup. The team still has got enough experienced players like Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque.
The Sri Lankan team is being led by Lahiru Thirimanne and has players like Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal and Shehan Jayasuriya and Dilhara Lokuhettige in the squad.
Afghanistan is being led by Mohammad Nabi, their best all-rounder with Gulbadin Naib and Samiullah Shinwari who all play in UAE’s domestic cricket too.
Another top team is Hong Kong but there are also teams promising teams like Nepal and Malaysia along with rising cricket teams like China, South Korea, Kuwait and Maldives competing for honours.
Aminul Islam, the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Development officer is taking an active interest and expressed his delight over so many Asian countries participating in the Games.
Women cricketers will also compete for honours with top teams being Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Malaysia. The other teams are Japan, China, Thailand and South Korea. All matches will be played at the new Yeonhui International Cricket Stadium which is South Korea’s first turf cricket ground. Sultan Rana, the ACC’s Events Manager had visited the ground and approved it for hosting matches.
The format of the tournament will be Twenty20 and matches will be held from September 20 to October 3.
