During Bangladesh’s two practice sessions in Abu Dhabi ahead of their Asia Cup 2025 opener against Hong Kong today, the focus was noticeably on big-hitting. That’s hardly unusual ahead of a T20 tournament.

Wasim Akram, who coached Kuldeep during his early days with Kolkata Knight Riders, said his hunger set him apart.

As the Asia Cup 2025 begins, the hope is that the on-field battles overshadow off-field concerns, delivering a tournament rich with exciting cricket while overcoming visible fatigue and political tension.

The match will start at 8.30pm Bangladesh Time.

Skippers from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, UAE and Hong Kong stood together with the glittering prize.

The weight of captaincy in any sport compounds exponentially under the bright lights of a major tournament. On top of that, if the captain has not experienced the pressure of leading in that event before, it should put them at an even bigger disadvantage.

Bangladesh’s reputation as a cricketing nation has suffered blows in recent years due to allegations of fixing in different tiers of domestic cricket.

The ACC Men’s Asia Cup -- a tournament that has been running since 1984 -- has so far witnessed 16 editions in which eight different nations have participated, three different teams have lifted the trophy, and only one country has participated in every iteration.

Bangladeshi umpires Masudur Rahman and Gazi Sohel are set to officiate in the forthcoming Asia Cup, with the former being named as an on-field umpire in the high-voltage India-Pakistan encounter in the group-stage.

Asia Cup 2025 kicks off on September 9 in the UAE, returning in the T20 format for the first time since 2022.

England batter Jacob Bethell is unsure if his first hundred in international cricket in Sunday's one-dayer against South Africa has opened the door to the Ashes squad but the 21-year-old is confident he would not let anyone down if given the opportunity.

This will be the first time Pakistan play neighbours Afghanistan in a T20I match on home soil, the PCB said.

The tournament will run from September 9–28.

If the 2-0 margin of victory doesn't make it obvious, the fact that only eight Bangladeshi batters got a chance to bat in the three-match series against the Netherlands is a solid indicator of just how one-sided the series in Sylhet was.

Fakhar Zaman cracked a robust 77 and spinner Abrar Ahmed registered career-best figures as Pakistan reached the T20I tri-series final with a 31-run win over United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

South Africa's Matthew Breetzke extended his record streak as he became the first batsman in one-day international history to start his career with five consecutive scores of fifty or more.

National team cricketer Mohammad Mithun was elected as the new president of the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), beating lone competitor Salim Shahed in the election held at the BCB Academy building on Thursday.

"When I got the captaincy, I thought that I have to become like Dhoni."

For the record book, Bangladesh captain Litton Das' fiifty against the Netherlands in the dead-rubber third T20I in Sylhet yesterday holds some significance. With it, the wicketkeeper-batter overtook Shakib Al Hasan for the most fifties, 14, in the format for the Tigers.

Bangladesh’s outgoing specialised power-hitting coach Julian Wood believes that the team is now in a much better shape compared to a month ago and he is expecting the Tigers to challenge their opponents and get good results in the upcoming Asia Cup T20, scheduled to start on September 9 in the UAE.