England will be well prepared for the Twenty20 World Cup because half of the squad are getting used to conditions in the United Arab Emirates by playing in the Indian Premier League, bowler Tymal Mills said.

Having come back from a goal down and one man short to earn a creditable 1-1 draw against India, Bangladesh football coach Oscar Bruzon mentioned that the Bangladesh football is still well and truly alive and expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the national team in their second SAFF Championship encounter at Maldives yesterday.

Left-back Yeasin Arafat scored a 73rd-minute equaliser to help a 10-man Bangladesh bounce back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against India during their group stage SAFF Championship game at the National Stadium in Male today.

While it is common to see strikers with good conversion rates compete among each other to make it into the playing eleven, it is certainly unusual and rare for a defender to stay in contention with a striker to become the top scorer. 

The football matches between Bangladesh and India always induces additional excitement among the players and the spectators on both sides and the tacticians of both teams do not lag behind in terms of excitement ahead of another SAFF Championship tie between Bangladesh and India today in Male, Maldives.

Bangladesh are determined to maximise on winning momentum in today’s SAFF Championship clash against seven-time champions India, a side they have beaten only thrice in the past 50 years.

With the clock ticking down during the World Cup qualifying match against India at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha in June,

Before the team’s scheduled departure for Oman today, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said that his team’s aim would be to win as many matches as possible in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh football team apparently had a hidden pressure to get off to a winning start in the SAFF Championship and the charges of interim coach Oscar Bruzon did it after switching to a brand of possession-based football from a defensive one.

Topu Barman’s 56th-minute spot-kick gave Bangladesh a winning start in their SAFF Championship campaign as the men in red and green beat Sri Lanka 1-0 at the National Stadium in the Maldives today.

Blowing their whistles and beating drums, the expatriate spectators were flocking at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives as Bangladesh gear up for their SAFF Championship campaign to take off against Sri Lanka this afternoon. The match is scheduled to get underway from 5:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

A revitalised Bangladesh are set to begin their SAFF Championship campaign with hopes of a winning start in their opening match against a new-look new-look Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in Male today.

“I have already bought a ticket to watch Bangladesh’s opening match against Sri Lanka after standing in a long queue on Wednesday. Many Bangladeshis living here are also waiting to buy tickets,” expatriate Mansur Ali contentedly answered ahead of the start of the SAFF Championship in Male today.

Ahead of the 13th SAFF Championship in the Maldives from October 1, Bangladesh will hope their desire to play the elusive final does not again turn to despair.

Sports lovers across South Asia and beyond will have a feast of football to devour upon over the next sixteen days as five nations of the region renew their rivalry for regional supremacy in the Maldivian capital Male today.

The timings of the opening day fixtures of the SAFF Championship have been changed. Bangladesh will now play the opener against Sri Lanka at the National Football Stadium in the Maldives tomorrow. The match will now begin at 5:00pm (BST) instead of 10:00pm (BST).

Bangladesh had their first training session in the Maldives yesterday ahead of the SAFF Championship after the squad returned negative Covid-19 tests.

The Daily Star (DS): You have been having the time of your life as captain. Do you believe there is a good balance of youth and experience heading into your maiden T20 World Cup as a captain?

Although Irfan Sukkur failed to bring up a century, Bangladesh A side were still on top at the end of the second day of their first four-dayer against the High Performance (HP) side at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

The Daily Star (DS): Bangladesh won the series against Australia and New Zealand comfortably but the batsmen struggled to score runs.  Do you think there are concerns in the batting department going into the T20 World Cup?