With anti-war demonstrations expected after Friday's Muslim prayers, security was to be tight when hosts Bangladesh take on India in the opening match of the limited-overs tri-nation tournament, which also features South Africa.
The first match of the 10-day tournament will begin at 1:45 p.m. (0745 GMT) Friday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in downtown Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.
Riot police, plainclothes officers and paramilitary soldiers would be deployed in and around the stadium during matches, Dhaka's police chief, Abdul Quayum, told The Associated Press. Authorities have banned rallies and processions around the stadium, which is next to the central mosque in downtown Dhaka.
Islamic parties were expected to hold anti-war demonstrations outside the mosque after noon prayers on Friday, the Muslim Sabbath. A 15-member Indian team, captained by Sourav Ganguly, arrived Wednesday in Dhaka. India will be missing star players Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ashish Nehra because of injuries sustained in the World Cup, where India lost the final to Australia. But Ganguly was confident about lifting the tournament title with the help of the new faces on his team.
"We have come to win. We have some outstanding new players. You will see their performance on the field," Ganguly told reporters. India left out Sarandeep Singh, Amit Mishra, Sanjay Bangar and Abhijit Kalee from an 11-member team announced for Friday's match. Bangladesh, which had a disastrous World Cup in which it failed to win a single match, will be led by new captain Khaled Mahmud.
Mahmud's first assignment as captain will be to use the tournament to end the team's losing streak in international matches. "Our moral confidence is high. We will show our best in the home tournament and give our opponents a good contest," Mahmud said at a news conference Thursday.
"We have come to win. We have some outstanding new players. You will see their performance on the field," Ganguly told reporters. India left out Sarandeep Singh, Amit Mishra, Sanjay Bangar and Abhijit Kalee from an 11-member team announced for Friday's match. Bangladesh, which had a disastrous World Cup in which it failed to win a single match, will be led by new captain Khaled Mahmud.
Mahmud's first assignment as captain will be to use the tournament to end the team's losing streak in international matches. "Our moral confidence is high. We will show our best in the home tournament and give our opponents a good contest," Mahmud said at a news conference Thursday.
Bangladesh has lost all eight one-day international matches it has played against India. It has managed to win only three of its 67 previous one-day international games. The wins were against Kenya, Scotland and Pakistan.
South Africa, led by 22-year-old new skipper Graeme Smith, will meet India on Sunday in the second match of the tournament. Teams:
Bangladesh - Khaled Mahmud (captain), Mehrab Hossain, Mohammed Ashraful, Akram Khan, Alok Kapali, Tushar Imran, Khaled Masud, Sanwar Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Tapash Baishya and Monjurul Islam.
India - Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Goutam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Aviskar Salvi and Zaheer Khan.