Opening the innings is not new to the struggling right-hander as he was given the responsibility on several occasions, but never proved his worth in this position.

After a long break, he was promoted to the opening slot in the last match against Kenya in August with left-handed Shahriar Nafees and continued to do so in both the practice games. The fact is he simply fired blank.

Captain Habibul Bashar, though, was not frustrated with his effort in the opening position. To a certain extent, he believes that Ashraful can be a good opener if he gets enough time.

"Yes, Ashraful will open the innings with Shahriar Nafees because we think that they need more time to be a good pair. I am not frustrated with Ashraful's performance as an opener. He might have failed to make a big score in the practice match against PCA XI but he looked very focussed in his position which is encouraging," said the skipper.

Ashraful stated that he was ready to establish himself as a permanent opener in the one-day game.

"I want to be a good opener, and not a mere pinch-hitter. I think a batsman can bat at any position if he has the quality. I think everything will be okay if I can play a good innings as an opener," said Ashraful.

"The team management had a session with me and they gave me the idea about what is my responsibility as an opener. I think as an opener, a batsman has a great chance to settle down and play a big innings. I am not worried with my bad form because I know it is just a matter of time to get back," he added.

He was excited with the fact that he is going to play against Sri Lanka, against whom he has a good track record.

"These sort of wickets are good for playing shots as there will be good bounce," he said.

"I always love to play against Sri Lanka. I have some good innings against them. If I can survive the first few overs, then I can make a big one this time," said the man who boasts two Test hundreds and four ODI half- centuries against the Lankans.

"I need just a good innings to get back my confidence and I think the stage is set for me to do that. If I can do here in this big tournament, then the impact will be immense," he added.