Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and decided to bowl first in the first Twenty20 international match against Sri Lanka at Sylhet international stadium Monday.
Bangladesh has included Jaker Ali in the playing eleven while the visitors are being led by Charith Asalanka due to the absence of regular captain Wanindu Hasaranga. Hasaranga will miss the first two T20I matches due to his ban by the ICC.
In a pre-match presser on Sunday, Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said he wants his team to focus on the game keeping the past rivalries behind. “I expect this to be a very competitive series between two good sides. What happened in the past, for me, that’s history, now it’s gone. I think what we have to do is, certainly from our perspective, to concentrate on what’s in front of us. And remember what we’re aiming for.”
He, however, considered the visitors as favourites in the T20 series.
On the other hand, Najmul Hossain Shanto, as a full time captain of the Tigers, sets his goal to lead Bangladesh to claim a big trophy, something which is still missing.
“We have been doing well in ODI cricket but as a team we haven’t won any big trophy as of now. We would have to plan well on how we can play well in big tournaments and win a trophy,” Shanto said in his first interaction with the media as the full-time captain of Bangladesh at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Sunday.
There’s a lot of grass on the pitch, especially for a T20I match. If dew comes in later in the evening, the team batting first will be at a significant disadvantage. Not a surprise that Shanto decided to bowl first.
Teams
Bangladesh: Litton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam
Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka (capt.), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana