US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu extended his country's best wishes to the Bangladesh team ahead of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies.
"We wish the Bangladesh Men's National Team good luck," he told reporters after making his cricketing debut Wednesday, in a friendly cricket match with the Bangladesh Women's cricket team, where he and Ambassador Peter Haas wore Bangladesh shirts.
He also wished the best in their future endeavours for the Bangladesh Women's cricket team.
Earlier on the second day of his visit to Bangladesh, Lu described his visit as an effort to "rebuild the trust" between the people of the two countries.
"Last year, there was a lot of tension between US and Bangladesh," he told reporters in a brief statement, frankly noting that they want to look forward - the hallmark of US pragmatism.
Lu had a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud at his office and discussed ways to deepen the "forward-looking" bilateral relationship between two countries.
The United States said they stand with Bangladesh in building a "prosperous, secure, and democratic" future.
Both the Men's and Women's teams were supposed to join the assistant secretary and Ambassador but the Men could not join as they were flying today for their World Cup journey.
Bashundhara Group Vice-Chairman Safwan Sobhan welcomed Donald Lu and Peter Haas when they reached Bashundhara Sporting Club Complex.
"I would like to thank Bangladesh Cricket Board and Bashundhara Group," Lu said.
"I never played cricket before but we tried. It's really a lot of fun. And we are super excited to see Women's World Cup in Bangladesh," he said.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) already announced the fixtures for the ninth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, taking place from 3 to 20 October in Bangladesh, an event that promises to inspire and connect with a new generation of fans across the globe.
Ten teams will play 23 matches, over 18 action-packed days, at two venues in Bangladesh, the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet as the world’s best battle it out for the ultimate prize in T20 cricket.
Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said the US side wanted to interact with them. "They are quite happy to interact. They know cricket is very popular in Bangladesh."
The special event marks the Bangladesh cricket team's participation in the inaugural T20 World Cup in the US.
The 2024 Men's T20 World Cup starts on 2 June at 01:30 BST with hosts United States facing Canada in Texas.
Bangladesh's campaign begins on June 7, against Sri Lanka in Dallas, followed by a match against South Africa in New York on June 10.
The team will then travel to the West Indies for their remaining two first-round matches.
Prior to the tournament, Bangladesh will play a practice match against India in New York on June 1 and a three-match T20I-Series against the hosts, USA, in Houston. This series will also feature the World Cup Squad.
