<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam believes his stint with the Lankan Premier League (LPL) will be beneficial for him for the upcoming Asia Cup, a tournament that is seen as the preparation platform for the ICC Cricket World Cup.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The LPL, a domestic T20 tournament of Sri Lanka which is also the joint-host of Asia Cup, is the first ever franchise league for the left-arm pacer Shoriful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The first of anything is exciting for everyone. I am no exception. I am really excited to play my first ever franchise league and no doubt I want to make it memorable one for me," Shoriful, an integral part of Bangladesh's pace bowling unit, said here before boarding the flight today.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The young pacer who was the vital cog of Bangladesh's Under-19 World Cup winning campaign will be playing for Colombo Strikers in the LPL.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We'll play a match of Asia Cup in Kandy, so I hope the stint with Sri Lankan league will benefit me. I will get a clear picture of Sri Lankan condition and wicket," he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shoriful, who always looks aggressive in the ground but a down to the earth guy in his personal life, said he would try to give his best if he gets the chance to play matches in the LPL.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Whenever the opportunity comes, I will try to my best. Most of the cricketers play franchise league to enhance their experience. There is an opportunity to share the dressing room with many great cricketers. I will also try to share the thoughts and try to learn from the great cricketers there," Shoriful remarked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shoriful's Under-19 teammate Towhid Hridoy had already left the country to play the LPL. Hridoy will be playing for defending Champions Jaffna Kings. Test and T20 skipper Shakib Al Hasan and national discard Mohammad Mithun are the two other players from Bangladesh who would play the LPL. Both are the part of Galle Titans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pace bowler Taskin Ahmed was approached by LPL franchise Dambulla Aura but considering his workload ahead of two major tournaments, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) didn't give him the clearance. BSS</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>