Oshadee Weerasinghe, coach of the Bangladeshi women's cricket team has said that he expects the women in green to put up a good fight in the upcoming ACC Twenty20 Asia Cup to be held in Guangzhou, China this month. The Bangladeshi players who almost beat South Africa in a T20 series at home last month, have been placed in Group B along with hosts China, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

"I am hoping to go all the way. It's not an impossible task. We have played against these teams before and have beaten quite a few of them. This time we are much stronger," said Weerasinghe. The national players who have been practising at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Academy Ground for the last couple of days, have placed special focus on their fielding and batting. "Our fielding can improve a lot. As for our batters, many of them had to change their techniques in order to hit the balls harder," explained the Sri Lanka-based coach.

The team is scheduled to play their first game against Nepal on October 26 and are

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expected to reach China by October 22. The group stages will be followed by a knockout round where the winners of group A face the runners-up of group B and vice-versa. The finals will take place on October 31.

PRELIMINARYSQUAD Salma Khatun, Ayasha Rahman, Sharmin Akter Supta, Rumana Ahmed, Fargana Hoque Pinki, J a h a n a r a Alam, Lata Mondol, Nuzhat Tasnim Tumpa, Khadijatul Kubra, Ritu Moni, Sanjida Islam Moyna, Lily Rani, Tajia Akter, Tithi Rani Sarker, Panna Ghosh, Saila Sharmin, Champa Chakma, Tallin Tahera, Shamima Sultana, Tripti Mondol.

GROUPING

GROUP A: Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Thailand.

GROUP B: Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka.

FIXTURES

Oct24: PakistanvThailand

Bangladesh vChina

Oct25: lndiavThailand| Sri Lanka vNepal

Oct26: BangladeshvNepal

Thailand vHong Kong

Oct27: Sri Lanka vChina

Pakistan vHong Kong

Oct28: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka India v Pakistan

Oct29: NepalvChina

India vHong Kong

Oct 30: Semifinals: A-l v B-2, A-2 v B-1