Photo: ESPN

DHAKA, Sept 7, 2025 (BSS) - Bangladesh middle order batter Jaker Ali Anik was 
unfazed by the outside talk as he believes his side is capable of clinching 
the Asia Cup trophy, that eluded them thrice.

The Tigers go into the regional tournament, high on confidence following 
their victory in the past three T20 series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and 
Netherlands.

But that was still not enough to win the Asia Cup which will be held in the 
T20 format this year, according to former Indian cricketer and cricket 
analyst Akash Chopra.

Recently, on his YouTube channel Chopra said that Bangladesh might play 
excellent cricket of late and boasted with several match winners but still 
they are highly likely to be eliminated from the group stage of the Asia Cup.

"There is nothing to answer to anyone," Jaker said while his attention was 
drawn to Chopra's comment. 

"We will play our best cricket. We all believe, we are going with that 
(champion) mindset."

Jaker along with other Bangladesh cricketers --captain Liton Das, Saif Hasan, 
Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shamim Patwari left the country for 
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today at 10.15 AM with the first batch.

The next batch of cricketers will fly to the UAE at 7:30 AM on the same day 
(Sunday).
 
Bangladesh will also start their practice tomorrow in Abu Dhabi where they 
will play all of their three group matches against Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and 
Afghanistan.

Bangladeshi cricketers had fitness and skill sessions in the country since 
the beginning of August. Later, they won the three-match T20 series against 
the Netherlands by 2-0.

Overall, Jaker expressed satisfaction with their preparations before the Asia 
Cup, saying, "Our preparations have been very good. Starting from fitness to 
the Netherlands series, the preparations have been good. The mood in the 
dressing room is also good as always."

Power-hitting expert coach Julian Wood was brought to Bangladesh's Asia Cup 
preparation camp to hone cricketers' power-hitting skills. 

Jaker believes that the special session with Wood will come in handy, adding 
that they need to play an aggressive brand of cricket.

"We have to play an aggressive brand of cricket. We have to play with the 
same mindset on the big stage. Obviously we'll follow the basics but the 
intent should always be aggressive."

Bangladesh are pitted in Group B in Asia Cup along with Afghanistan, Sri 
Lanka and Hong Kong. The top two teams from the four teams in the group will 
advance to the Super Four. Bangladesh's first match is on September 11, 
against Hong Kong.