Blowing their whistles and beating drums, the expatriate spectators were flocking at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives as Bangladesh gear up for their SAFF Championship campaign to take off against Sri Lanka this afternoon. The match is scheduled to get underway from 5:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

A revitalised Bangladesh are set to begin their SAFF Championship campaign with hopes of a winning start in their opening match against a new-look new-look Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in Male today.

“I have already bought a ticket to watch Bangladesh’s opening match against Sri Lanka after standing in a long queue on Wednesday. Many Bangladeshis living here are also waiting to buy tickets,” expatriate Mansur Ali contentedly answered ahead of the start of the SAFF Championship in Male today.

Ahead of the 13th SAFF Championship in the Maldives from October 1, Bangladesh will hope their desire to play the elusive final does not again turn to despair.

Sports lovers across South Asia and beyond will have a feast of football to devour upon over the next sixteen days as five nations of the region renew their rivalry for regional supremacy in the Maldivian capital Male today.

The timings of the opening day fixtures of the SAFF Championship have been changed. Bangladesh will now play the opener against Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in the Maldives tomorrow. The match will now begin at 5:00pm (BST) instead of 10:00pm (BST).

Bangladesh had their first training session in the Maldives yesterday ahead of the SAFF Championship after the squad returned negative Covid-19 tests.

The Daily Star (DS): You have been having the time of your life as captain. Do you believe there is a good balance of youth and experience heading into your maiden T20 World Cup as a captain?

Although Irfan Sukkur failed to bring up a century, Bangladesh A side were still on top at the end of the second day of their first four-dayer against the High Performance (HP) side at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

The Daily Star (DS): Bangladesh won the series against Australia and New Zealand comfortably but the batsmen struggled to score runs.  Do you think there are concerns in the batting department going into the T20 World Cup?

Mohammad Salahuddin (MS): Obviously expectations in general are high after winning series against Australia and New Zealand. That’s pretty normal because we have winning momentum and can hope that Bangladesh will do well.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today confirmed the schedule for Pakistan's tour of the country for three T20Is and two Tests, both part of the  ICC World Test Championship, in November-December. 

The squad will be led by Dasun Shanaka as the team begin their campaign on 18 October against Namibia in Abu Dhabi in Group A of the First Round, where they have also drawn Ireland and the Netherlands.

Getting a winning tonic ahead of the T20 World Cup in Oman and the UAE was all that Bangladesh had apparently planned for and with three series wins on the trot -- away to Zimbabwe followed by wins at home over Australia and New Zealand

New Zealand clinched the fifth and final T20I by 27 runs at Mirpur yesterday in a surface that provided much more to batters than the previous matches. Bangladesh, coming into the match having already sealed the series, fought back with Afif Hossain’s unbeaten 49 in chase of 162 but eventually the Kiwi bowlers prevailed with intelligent pace variations to seize victory.

Although Bangladesh completed the five-match T20I series against New Zealand with a 27-run defeat in the final game, the Tigers will have gained in confidence after three consecutive T20I series wins.

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat first in the fifth and final T20I against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan stepped down from his position with immediate effect on Thursday, shortly after the country's cricket board (ACB) named him in their squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in October-November.

West Indies recalled experienced pace bowler Ravi Rampaul to the team for the first time in six years as the defending champions on Thursday named their squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in October-November.

Concerns remain regarding Bangladesh’s quality of preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup after winning recent encounters on spin-friendly series in Mirpur but despite these concerns,