The 32-year-old also said it was time not to be the whipping boys as in the past six editions of the regional cricket carnivals, but rather throw a few punches of their own.

"It will not be easy for any team to beat us like the past because gone are the days when we have just played and hoped for the best afterwards," said a confident Bashar on Tuesday, a day before the 15-member team flies to Colombo.

Growing in confidence after the series in West Indies early this month, Bashar however showed total respect to the big three -- defending champions Pakistan, India and hosts Sri Lanka -- in the meet.

"May be they are world beaters but we also want to gain some respect from them. I also feel that in this part of the world it is essential to have 300 runs in the bank if you want to win matches," said the top batsman of the country.

Although the task ahead for Dav Whatmore's men is tough to say the least but Bashar believes on a given day his fast improving side can turn dream into reality provided that every member plays to his potential.

The Bangladesh captain was banking on two young members of the team Mohammad Ashraful and out-of-form Alok Kapali to fire in the competition.

"Kapali may have been starving for runs for too long. But there is no doubt about his talent and I believe that he has the potential to become a world class batsman. If he succeeds in Sri Lanka runs will start to flow again," said Bashar.

He was also eager to see Ashraful make the most of the first 15 overs to give the team a perfect launch pad.

Interestingly both Ashraful and Kapali made their marks on Lankan soil two years ago.

Bashar, whose average in one-day cricket is mediocre (18.40) compared to his healthy Test record (35.54), said that this tournament would be an altogether different approach even for him.

"I'm aware that my one-day performance is not good but I can assure you that you will be writing about a different Bashar in the Asia Cup," said the fluent stroke-maker without elaborating.

When Bashar sounded full of beans Kapali knows that it's probably his last chance to prove himself on the big stage.

"I am confident to hit form where I made my debut in 2002. Besides, this is an opportunity for me to pay back the faith shown by the selectors despite my poor show in the West Indies," said the 20-year-old middle-order batsman.

"The coach and selectors kept on telling me that there is nothing wrong with my technique. All I need now is a bit of luck and everything will be okay," said the all-rounder, who is the only Bangladeshi to achieve a hattrick in Test cricket.

The soft-spoken cricketer from Sylhet said that he wants to forget whatever he did in West Indies except following the wise words of Brian Lara.

"Lara just told me to keep on remembering the good knocks and that would help to get over the bad spell. And I just need one big score to do that," he added.

Bangladesh will play three practice matches before the Asia Cup gets underway on July 16. Pencilled in one group with Pakistan and Hong Kong, whom the Tigers will play in their opener at the SSC ground.

The other group features India, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.

Squad
Javed Omar, Mohammed Ashraful, Habibul Bashar (captain), Rajin Saleh (vice-captain), Alok Kapali, Faisal Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahman, Khaled Mahmud, Khaled Mashud, Mohammed Rafique, Manjarul Islam Rana, Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz Khan and Abdur Razzak.