BAN vs SL: Mohammad Naim - who walked on fire before Asia Cup 2023 - fails to impress in Sri Lanka match

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Bangladeshi cricketer Mohammad Naim - who grabbed a lot of media and fans attention after a video of himself walking on fire ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 - failed to perform with the bat in his team's opening game against Sri Lanka on Thursday (August 31).

Naim - who is a right-handed batter - opened innings for Bangladesh at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium after captain Shakib Al Hasan elected to bat first. He was accompanied by debutant Tanzid Hasan in their team's first match of the continental competition.

After young Tanzid was dismissed early for a duck by spinner Maheesh Theekshana in the second over of the match, fans hoped Naim will bat long to take their team to a big total. However, the 24-year-old right-handed batter failed to leave a mark in the game.

He scored 16 off 23 balls, including three fours before getting dismissed by Sri Lankan off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva. Pathum Nissanka took the catch to dismiss Naim as Bangladesh lost both their openers inside first 10 overs.

Ahead of Asia Cup, a video of Naim walking on fire went viral over social media, while working with a mind trainer. Naim's bizarre action, who is part of Bangladesh's squad for the continental tournament, raised some questions. BAN vs SL, Asia Cup 2023 Highlights and Updates

His actions prior to such an important tournament also brought the team's preparation in question. The video of Naim's bizarre act was shared by Saif Ahmed, a social media manager at Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) side Rangpur Riders. Saif wrote, "Mohammad Naim Sheikh working with a mind trainer ahead of Asia Cup."

He even went on revealing that Naim isn't the first cricketer to do so, infact Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed also attempted something similar in the past. Naim has so far featured in 5 ODIs for Bangladesh and his 16 against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup is his highest score.