Asia Cup 2022: "Whatever happened in the media can remain there" - Shakib Al Hasan reacts to controversial bowling remarks

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has brushed aside outside noise ahead of their Asia Cup 2022 fixture against Sri Lanka on Thursday, September 1 in Dubai.

Verbal volleys were exchanged between the two camps ahead of the virtual knockout encounter.

While Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka claimed the Tigers have only two "world-class" bowlers, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud replied that the Lankans don’t have a single quality bowler in their ranks.

When asked about the same during the toss, Shakib stated:

"We haven't talked about it at all, whatever happened in the media can remain there, we want to play good cricket in the ground and hope to win for Bangladesh."

It is a must-win game for either side as the winner will join Afghanistan from Group B in the Super 4 stage. Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh lost to the Afghans.

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"The first 10 overs is important" - Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh have been asked to bat first by Sri Lanka. Shakib admitted that while he wanted to field first, he is hopeful that the Bangladesh batters will provide the team with a good start. He elaborated:

"We wanted to field first, but having said that, it's not in our control. We just have to bat well. The first 10 overs is important, if we can keep wickets in hand then we can utilize the last 10 overs. We didn't bat well in the last game, that's the main thing, we have to bat well in the first 6 overs."

Bangladesh could only manage 127 runs in their first game against Afghanistan. After a top-order failure, Mosaddek Hossain's unbeaten 48 propelled them to a fifgting toal. However, it wasn't enough as the Afghans won by seven wickets.

Shakib and Co. will hope to put in a much better performance against Sri Lanka.

Stay tuned for the latest Asia Cup 2022 live score and news updates on Sportskeeda.