Sports Desk:

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka believes that taking on Bangladesh will be easier than Afghanistan in the Asia Cup as the Tigers don’t have world-class bowlers apart from Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman.

The five-time Asia Cup champions suffered a thrashing eight-wicket loss against Afghanistan in the tournament opener in Dubai on Saturday.

With the loss, Sri Lanka’s chance of making it through to the Super 4 stage is hanging by a thread.

They have one game left, against Bangladesh on September 1. With a poor run rate after one match, Sri Lanka must hope they beat Bangladesh and beat them handsomely to stand a chance to progress.

‘Afghanistan has a world-class bowling attack. We know Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman] is a good bowler. Shakib [al Hasan] is a world-class bowler. But apart from them, there is no world-class bowler in the side. So if we compare with Afghanistan, Bangladesh is an easier opponent, said Shanaka in the post-match press conference.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka met 12 times in this format, with the Lankans winning on eight occasions. Shanaka feels the big number of meetings between the teams make the opposition familiar and makes it easier to work out plans.

A significant number of Lankan cricketers have featured in Bangladesh’s domestic leagues over the years.

Sanaka took part in two Bangladesh Premier League, where he captained two different sides in the country’s lone T20 franchise tournament.

Apart from himself, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, and Bhanuka Rajapakshe, who is playing in the current Asia Cup, also have the experience of playing in different domestic tournaments of Bangladesh.

The Lankan skipper acknowledged that this would give them a big advantage when they take on Bangladesh.

‘We have been playing a lot of cricket with Bangladesh team, so we know the exact plans of them. So it will play a major role in the next game. So it will be a lot easier knowing their plans and knowing their players,’ he said.

‘We know their players.  These days every member of a side is well aware of the players of their counterparts. It helps us to face them in the international games [Having experience of playing in domestic cricket],’ he concluded.