Pakistan's 15-member national cricket team left for Bangladesh late Wednesday night to participate in the upcoming Asia Cup 2012 scheduled to start March 11 in Mirpur.
Published: Mar 08, 2012, 04:46 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 08, 2012, 04:46 PM (IST)
The match between arch-rivals Pakistan and India will catch all the eyeballs as both teams now rarely play against each other © Getty Images
Islamabad: Mar 8, 2012
Pakistan’s 15-member national cricket team left for Bangladesh late Wednesday night to participate in the upcoming Asia Cup 2012 scheduled to start March 11 in Mirpur.
The Pakistani squad led by captain Misbah-ul-Haq, along with newly appointed head coach Dav Whatmore, will play Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and defending champion India in the four-nation Asian Championship.
Misbah-ul-Haq, talking to media, admitted that the team couldn’t perform well against England in limited overs games but he hoped 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 its officials reached the airport in the Southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan will play the inaugural match of the mega event against the hosts March 11 before taking on Sri Lanka and India March 15 and 18, respectively.
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 its management after its whitewash in the One-day Internationals (ODI) and 1-2 loss in the T20 series against England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.
Left-hand opener Imran Farhat, former captain Shoaib Malik and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal were all dropped from the squad.
India won the last and the 10th edition of this tournament which was held in Dambulla in Sri Lanka in June 2010.
China showed its interest to host the 11th edition of Asia Cup this year in Guangzhou but Asian Cricket Council decided to organise it in Bangladesh. It is the third time that Bangladesh will be hosting this event.(IANS)
