Hathurusingha 'not aware' of Bangladesh's rivalries with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have got a bit of history between them. The last time Bangladesh met Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in a multinational tournament was in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy. The match, dubbed as the virtual semifinal, went right down to the wire. 

There was a lot of drama as Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan almost called his team back after a non-no ball call. Fast forward five years and he is taking his team to the Asia Cup coached by Chandika Hathurusingha, who was then the head coach of Sri Lanka. 

Bangladesh went very close to beating Sri Lanka in both the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2022 Asia Cup. The Asia Cup match last year was preceded by a lot of chatter off the field with people like Dasun Shanaka, Khaled Mahmud and Mahela Jayawardene firing bullets. 

It has since become one of the spiciest rivalries in Asia. Afghanistan, who recently beat Bangladesh for the first time in an ODI series, have been a tough opponent as well. 

But Bangladesh head coach Hathurusingha said he is not aware of Bangladesh's rivalry with these two teams but is wary of the challenge posed by them.

"I'm not aware of the rivalry, but then, lately, those two teams played really good games against each other, especially in the previous Asia Cups," he said. 

"So, I think both teams give us a good challenge. But at the same time, I think we had some success against them in the recent past. So, we don't take the rivalry into account, but our strategy against both teams is how we can get an advantage," added Hathurusingha. 

Shakib spoke in the press conference after the head coach and his statement echoed the one of Hathurusingha. "I don't like word rivalry. But we have played some competitive cricket recently. It's good for the crowd and for cricket," he said.  

Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka in their first Asia Cup match on 31 August in Kandy.