Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team will depart for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, as they prepare to defend their title in the 2024 U-19 Asia Cup.

The tournament will kick off on Friday and Bangladesh aims to retain the crown they won last year.

On Thursday (November 21), Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the final 14-member squad for the prestigious tournament, with Azizul Hakim Tamim named as captain. Bangladesh clinched their maiden U-19 Asia Cup title in 2023, defeating the UAE by a dominant 195-run margin in the final.

The official photo session for the team was held on Saturday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, with the team full of optimism for the upcoming challenge. Speaking to the press, Captain Tamim expressed confidence in his team’s abilities. "We are the defending champions, and with five players from last year’s winning squad, we are very optimistic about retaining the title," Tamim said. "We have worked hard over the last few months, and our confidence is high after winning the home series against the UAE. We also aim to win the U-19 World Cup along with the Asia Cup."

The tournament will feature eight teams split into two groups. The five full-member Asian nations—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan—will be joined by Nepal, Japan, and UAE, who qualified for the event.

Bangladesh has been placed in Group B alongside Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. They will face Afghanistan on November 29 at Dubai International Stadium, followed by matches against Nepal on December 1 and Sri Lanka on December 3.

Prior to the tournament, Bangladesh will play a warm-up match against India on November 26 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh U-19 team: Azizul Hakim Tamim (captain), Jawad Arbar (vice-captain), Rifat Beg, Samiun Bashir Ratul, Devashis Sarkar, Rizan Hossain, Al Fahad, Iqbal Hasan Emon, Rafiuzzaman Rafi, Farid Hasan Foysal, Maruf Mrida, Shihab James, Ashrafuzzaman and Saad Islam Razi.