Bangladesh's Asia Cup started in the best possible fashion on Saturday, riding on Mushfiqur Rahim's brilliance and Tamim Iqbal's

Tamim Iqbal's career has been dogged by injuries for a long time. The left-hander had to return home after suffering a thigh injury after the first Test in South Africa last year.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal returned to Dhaka today and said that it would not do him good to dwell on the disappointment of returning from the Asia Cup while also reiterating that playing with injury is part of the game but lauded the efforts of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim for performing through the pain.

Rumours surfaced that Shakib Al Hasan was returning to Dhaka in the middle of the Asia Cup tournament due to his daughter falling sick.

It came as a surprise when selectors included former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful in the High Performance (HP) squad for a four-day game to be played at the Sheikh Abu Naser stadium in Khulna. The game will start from tomorrow and the squad will be split into two teams – Red team and Green Team.

After Bangladesh lost the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle by a big margin in March 2017, they famously came back in the next Test to seal a rare away win in their 100th Test match. The players then revealed that they had instituted a policy of holding a players-only team meeting on the eve of each match so that they can talk through problems and find solutions on their own.

With the 137-run win in Saturday's Asia Cup opener that skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had so desired in the lead-up to that match has cast a spell of optimism over Bangladesh's chances in the coveted regional competition. Momentum is the buzz word in Bangladesh cricket, and it is believed that the team needs to start well to do well.

Afghanistan continued their rise in international cricket with an upset 91-run win over Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi yesterday, knocking the former champions out of the Asia Cup.

Bangladesh pulled off an impressive 137-run win over Asian rival Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup opener on September 15, capped by impressive performances from Mushfiqur Rahim, Mithun Ali, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and others.

After a fair bit of dillydallying on the issue the Bangladesh team management finally confirmed that opener Tamim Iqbal has been officially ruled out of the ongoing Asia Cup.

If there is one thing that permeates every facet of Mushfiqur Rahim's identity as a cricketer and, as proved once again in the Asia Cup opener on Saturday, his status as Bangladesh's best all-round batsman it is his monk-like dedication to prepare as well as humanly possible.

All of Bangladesh is rejoicing in the heroism displayed by the country's highest run-scorer to come out to bat at number 11 with a broken wrist just so that the team could reach a total that would give them a fighting chance in their Asia Cup Opener against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Saturday.

Tamim Iqbal's heavily bandaged left hand stuck out of a blue sling as he sat on the dressing room balcony staring off into space. The international match unfolding in front of him -- one that he was at the centre of just an hour and a half ago in hot sunshine before being reduced to a spectator as the Dubai sun was setting-- probably did not register.

It has become common knowledge that even though he played a delivery one-handed after coming in at number 11 to allow Bangladesh's innings to continue in Saturday's Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka, a fractured wrist has effectively ruled Tamim Iqbal out of the rest of the event.

Tamim Iqbal suffered a painful fracture to his left wrist while batting against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's Asia Cup opener on Saturday and will most likely miss the rest of the Asia Cup. With Tamim being the only quality opener in Bangladesh and his opening partner a long-standing problem for the team, it would indeed be a big blow, but the team management are not thinking of flying in a replacement at this point.

Mushfiqur Rahim was stranded at 112 unbeaten when Mustafizur Rahim fell to a rather silly run out. Mushfiqur’s face fell, knowing that it was the last wicket since Tamim Iqbal had already gone off the field with a fractured hand.

The incident occurred during the 42nd over of the Bangladesh innings. Rubel Hossain was facing up to Sri Lanka’s star performer Lasith Malinga, who was looking for his fifth wicket of the match.

After Tamim Iqbal’s heroics last night against Sri Lanka, we look back at instances where cricketers risked further injury and put their bodies on the line for their nation. Tamim might have faced only four deliveries overall but his sheer bravery put the wind right back on Bangladesh’s sails

Although the scoreboard shows that Tamim Iqbal scored just two runs off four balls in the Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka , skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza gushes in praise of the opener's bravery

Mushfiqur Rahim, during a career-best knock of 144 -- 32 of which were scored off 15 balls after Tamim’s unexpected appearance -- proved once again why he is the best all-round batsman Bangladesh have.