Asia Cup 2023: Litton Das misses Sri Lanka flight due to illness

Star Bangladesh batter will not be in the Bangladesh squad which will be flying to Sri Lanka for the 2023 Asia Cup owing to illness. Notably, the continental championship will be contested in a hybrid model from August 30 to September 17.

Bangladesh will begin their campaign against defending champions Sri Lanka on August 31 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. Subsequently, Bangladesh will square off against Afghanistan on September 3 in their final group stage game at the Gaddafi Stadium.

The Bangladesh contingent will depart Dhaka on August 27. Young pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib who was included in the squad lately as a replacement for injured Ebadot Hossain is also set to miss the flight. He will travel to the host country later since his ticket is yet to be confirmed.

Jalal Younus, Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) Cricket Operations Committee chairman, confirmed the unavailability of Litton on Sunday, August 27.

"Liton is suffering from fever. He tested negative for Dengue. So if he recovers early, he will take the next flight to Sri Lanka. But if he does not recover, then we may have to think about a replacement," Jalal told The Daily Star.

Debashis Chowdhury, BCB's chief physician, told Prothom Alo that the wicketkeeper-batter's illness is not serious and he will join the team as soon as possible.

“Litton is suffering from a fever. But it’s not anything serious. All the test results are positive. He will join the team when he recovers,” Debashis said.

Our main target is to play in final of the Asia Cup: Taskin Ahmed

Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed said that the team is hoping to make it to the final of the Asia Cup 2023. The continental championship will help the team in the much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup in India, according to the 28-year-old.

“Our main target is to play the final of the Asia Cup. It will be a big collective achievement if we can play the final of the Asia Cup. We of course want to become champions. The main thing is that we have to play good cricket. We also have the World Cup coming up. If all of us play to the best of our abilities, we have a good chance of becoming champions. Please pray for us, so that all of us can play our best cricket,” Taskin was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.