Bangladesh U19 Team Turns Attention to World Cup

After winning the tri-series tournament in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh Under-19 team now shifted their focus on next year's World Cup. The youth World Cup, which Bangladesh won just once in 2020, led by Akbar Ali  will be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia in January, next year. A successful outing in Zimbabwe just five months before the World Cup gave them a huge mental boost, said U19 Captain Azizul Hakim Tamim. "The successful Africa tour gave us confidence to do well in next year's World Cup," Hakim told the reporters yesterday night after arriving in the country from Harare, Zimbabwe. In their month-long Africa tour, Bangladesh won four-match youth ODI series against South Africa by 3-1 and then cap off the tour quite successfully, beating South Africa by 33 runs in the final to clinch the title of tri-series that also involved hosts Zimbabwe. Allrounder Rizan Hossain played a key role in clinching the title, having scored 95 along with a five-wicket haul.

Praising Rizan's unwavering resolve, Hakim said, "He was solid as an all-rounder and gave us some impetus when it required. I think that when we were struggling, Ratul also won us two matches." "The performance of Rizan in the final match was quite memorable one. When the team is struggling, if someone comes and delivers a good performance and leads the team to victory, that is amazing." Hakim also added that the success in Africa was a huge mental boost for the m. "The success in Africa is the testament of how we improved and gel together as a team. Our middle-order batters are doing well. The likes of Abdullah, Rizan are performing well. Overall the team has been in good stead." "We have been working hard for a year. Mentally, physically, we are thinking about the World Cup now," he concluded.