In a bid to regain the title, the Young Tigers left Dhaka in the wee hours of Sunday for South Africa to play in the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, which will kick off on January 19.
Bangladesh Under-19 will begin their campaign on January 20, when they will play their last two Group A matches on January 22 against Ireland and January 26 against the USA.
The young Tigers left the country with some confidence to get back the glory in South Africa, where they earned the feat in 2020.
Led by Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby, this time Bangladesh went to South Africa with some confidence and spirit, as they have a fresh frame of mind after winning the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when they beat the home sides by 195 runs in the final.
The Young Tigers are highly boosted up when they beat stronger side Sri Lanka in the group stage and the hot favorites India in the semifinal on their way to play the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team, after returning home from the UAE, did not waste even a day, as they joined the training session for the upcoming tournament on the very next day of their arrival and have been in the camp to make them perfect for the youth World Cup.
Before starting their campaign in the U-19 World Cup, the young Tigers will also have five days more to conduct a pre-match camp in Potchefstroom, some 321 kilometers away from their match venue in Bloemfontein.
Bangladesh will begin their campaign at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on January 20 by taking on one of the tournament’s top favorites and five-time champions, India, their Asia Cup semifinal opponents. Apart from India, the other opponents of Bangladesh in Group A are the United States and Ireland.
The South Africa-bound Under-19 team had an official photo session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, on Saturday.
On the eve of their departure for South Africa, Bangladesh captain Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby expressed his confidence in the team, saying, “Our team is now in wonderful shape, and I am confident about my team's ability to do better in the Under-19 World Cup."
“I can’t see any big challenge in the World Cup; I think we will play on a similar wicket in South Africa as we did in the UAE,” Rabby replied to a query to the media.
Bangladesh won their first-ever Under-19 Asia Cup title in Dubai last month, overpowering the powerhouses India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, led by Akbar Ali, Bangladesh won the ICC Under-19 World Club title in 2020, also in South Africa, but two years later, in the very next tournament, they had bitter experiences in the West Indies when they finished eighth in 2020.