BCB Planning for Asia Cup with Logic, Not Emotion

Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, Chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Selection Panel, has emphasised the importance of balancing positivity and logic as Bangladesh prepares for the upcoming Asia Cup.

“Our emotions are involved in cricket. When you are emotional, you always have to be positive,” Ashraf explained, referring to the squad announced for both the Netherlands series and the Asia Cup.

He added: “From that place of emotion and positive thinking, I also hope that Bangladesh will be the champion of the Asia Cup. However, we have to analyse the data and think logically—where we stand, how easy or difficult the path is to achieve that—because there are so many challenges involved.”

This year’s Asia Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in September. All participating countries have already announced their squads. Following Pakistan and India, Bangladesh confirmed a 16-member team on Friday.

Bangladesh has reached the Asia Cup final on three occasions—2012, 2016, and 2018—but has never secured the trophy.

Ashraf, also a former Bangladesh captain, remarked: “The Bangladesh team has the experience of playing in the Asia Cup final in the past. I believe Bangladesh has a chance to play in the final this time too. However, we must play calculative cricket, rather than being purely emotional. Everyone in the Asia Cup will be playing hard cricket.”

Highlighting Bangladesh’s recent successes, Ashraf said: “Bangladesh recently beat Sri Lanka in a T20 series, even on their home ground. We also have the experience of beating Afghanistan in a major tournament. So we know how to defeat Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, who are in our group.”

He concluded: “I don’t think it should be too tough for us to reach the final. We have the opportunity to make a statement. If we perform well here, we can send a clear message to the world about our abilities.”