Bangladesh's Hossan Eyes U19 Asia Cup Defense As Rehearsal For Next Year's WC

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Bangladesh's seam-bowling all-rounder Rizan Hossan views the upcoming U19 Men's Asia Cup, starting in the UAE on Friday, as the perfect dress rehearsal for the defending champions ahead of next year's World Cup, to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

"Bangladesh is playing very well in every match so far. In this tournament, match by match, we will try to focus on the processes step by step and try to win the title. This tournament has a very good importance, as it's a big event before the World Cup happens.

"We have a good team and the likes of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have good teams. So this is a very great platform for preparing for the World Cup," said Hossan in an exclusive conversation with IANS, facilitated by Sony Sports Network.

Bangladesh enter as defending champions after beating India in last year's final, adding to their 2020 U19 World Cup triumph – also secured by beating the same opposition.

Though their meeting with India will happen in the later stage of the competition, Bangladesh first need to get the better of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal in their Group B games.

For Hossan, confidence is at an all-time high following recent performances – like hitting a century in England, making 95 and picking five-for against South Africa and hitting 75 not out along with taking 2-54 against Afghanistan.

"I am very confident now and trying to give the same performance as the one against South Africa in the upcoming games. I am very confident of contributing in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding," he said.

That rare fast-bowling all-rounder ability also makes Hossan a crucial cog in the wheel. "My cricket journey started in my district Tangail and I am from Dhaka division. From the district, I went to the academy, then division, age-level cricket, under 14, 16, 18, then played at the national level in under 15, 17 and 19, and that's how I got my selection here," he explained.

Family support has been instrumental in his journey so far. "My family, especially my father, supports me a lot. My two older brothers are also cricketers and they participate in the competitions in the division. So I get a lot of help from them," said Hossan, who speaks a fair bit of Hindi and English, apart from his mother tongue Bengali.

The Bangladesh coaching staff's investment in developing his all-round game has paid dividends. "Our coaching staff is very supportive. They always try to give me time with batting, bowling and fielding. They give tons of options to me because I am a very hard-working person who always tries to learn new things and is very much concentrated on the game. With their support, I always try to give the best performance for my team," he said.

Hossan's approach to batting reflects maturity beyond his years. "It's just normal things – like try to play ball-by-ball and handle the situation well and take no big risks. Also, I just try to be calm on the field and not to focus on the target or hitting big runs quickly. The key is set some smaller targets like 10-20 runs and then everything becomes easy."

Preparation for the U19 Men's Asia Cup has been comprehensive for him. "I practised different things for the upcoming Asia Cup. I focused on facing spin bowling more. I tried to make some new shots against back of the length deliveries and on the leg side as well. For bowling he's now working on maintaining the same loads like before."

His game draws inspiration from England's Test captain and fellow seam bowling all-rounder Ben Stokes. "I like his attitude in batting, bowling and captaincy everything. That's why he is my idol and favourite player."

As the tournament approaches, Hossan signed off by expressing confidence in winning another Asia Cup crown. "We are very confident. We are well-prepared as a team. We try to focus on perfecting the basic game. We have practised together for a year or two. That's why our bonding is very good. To fans back home, please pray for us and watch the games. We will try to give our best in the matches."

Watch the ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup 2025 live on Sony Sports Network from December 12-21 across Sony Sports Ten 1 and Ten 2 SD & HD channels and livestream on Sony Liv

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