Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are set to launch their Asia Cup campaign on Thursday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Despite securing the 2022 Asia Cup, in its T20 format, Sri Lanka encountered challenges in forming their squad due to injuries and COVID-19 infections.
Players like Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madhushanka suffered injuries, and Kusal Perera has not yet recovered from COVID-19.
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Their recent form has not been encouraging as they lost 0-3 to India and 0-2 to New Zealand. While they performed well in the ICC Qualifiers, their struggles against top teams remain concerning.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh have their own share of injury concerns as they will be without Tamim Iqbal, pacer Ebadot Hossain and wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Shanto are their key players going into this clash and the skipper must fire with this left-arm slow-blowing as well to keep Bangladesh's title charge on track.
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What is the head-to-head record between Bangladesh and Afghanistan?
In ODI cricket, Sri Lanka have overwhelmingly dominated their encounters with Bangladesh, having won on 41 occasions out of the 51 times they have met each other.
Bangladesh have won nine times while two matches ended with no result.
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What are the expected line-ups between Bangladesh and Afghanistan?
Predicted Bangladesh XI: Afif Hossain, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mahedi Hasan
Predicted Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara, Matheesha Pathirana
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What are the betting odds for the Asia Cup encounter between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka are being tipped as favourites to win the match at 1.56 while Bangladesh carry an odd of 2.52.
| Team | Odds (via Dafabet) |
| Sri Lanka | 1.56 |
| Bangladesh | 2.52 |
