Regarding Sri Lanka, they are the reigning champions at the Asia Cup this year. They contend that the Asia Cup’s ODI format, which India last won in 2023, is a completely different competition.
The competition switches between the two white-ball versions according to whatever World Cup is coming up. It was the 50-over World Cup in 2023. It is the T20 World Cup in 2025. Additionally, Sri Lanka is the most recent winner of the Asia Cup’s T20I format, having won the championship in 2022.
Prior to his team’s first Asia Cup match against Bangladesh on Saturday, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka stated, “Mentally, the fact that we are defending champions is a really good thing.” Many of these players also participated in the most recent competition held here in the United Arab Emirates. We are aware that we can succeed because we are champions. That serves as motivation for the players.
Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka often play on slower, less batting-friendly grounds at home. Asalanka, however, anticipated a different Abu Dhabi surface.
“I believe Abu Dhabi has the best batting surface when comparing these conditions to other UAE venues. It’s considerably simpler to bat here once the ball softens, and the outfield is excellent. The desire of every batsman is to play in Abu Dhabi.
Since the beginning of the year, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have played three Twenty20 Internationals, three One-Day Internationals, and two Test matches. Bangladesh won the T20I series, but Sri Lanka won the ODI and Test series.
India
