Under-19s look for winning mentality

The Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team will leave for Sri Lanka tomorrow to play two four-day matches and five one-dayers against the hosts.

After a two-run defeat in the Under-19 Asia Cup final against India this month at home, coach Naveed Nawaz is looking forward to adopting a winner's mindset from the Sri Lanka series.

"A winning culture is good for grooming players. If you win more, you can groom better players. So in the bigger picture, that's what we're looking to do and that's why this tour is important," said the former Sri Lanka Under-19 coach yesterday while speaking to reporters.

Asked whether the switch to a longer format would be difficult for the players, the Sri Lankan replied: "It will be tough as we only had a couple of days to practise after the Asia Cup and that is why adaptability is a crucial skill. The boys need to learn how to adapt and after that, they just need to do their best."

Bangladesh's poor batting performances in the Asia Cup was a prime reason for their eventual demise and so, according to Nawaz, the team have been rotating players to find the right fit.

"In the Asia Cup, we played 10 debutants, so the idea is to rotate players until we find someone who is best for the position in the current squad," Nawaz informed.

Captain Towhid Hridoy seemed confident about his team.

"We need to focus to make sure that those mistakes [in the Asia Cup] are not repeated. We can defeat any team as long as we give 100 per cent of our full potential," Hridoy said.

SQUAD: Towhid Hridoy (captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Sajid Hossan, Prantik Nawrose, Amite Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Akbar Ali, Mahmudul Hasan, Rakibul Hasan,  Minhazur Rahman, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Asadullah Hill Galib and Shahin Alam.