Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said his players are drawing on their 2022 Asia Cup victory as motivation for their upcoming campaign.
They won the T20I edition of the tournament, while India won the more recent ODI version of the competition in 2023.
Sri Lanka begin their T20I title defence against Bangladesh, who they have faced in six white-ball matches already this year.
Although Sri Lanka won the ODI series, Bangladesh got the better of them in the T20I matches.
Asalanka, who is expecting batter-friendly conditions in the tournament, believes Sri Lanka’s 2022 triumph has helped them prepare mentally.
“Mentally, the fact that we are defending champions is a really good thing,” said Asalanka.
“It was a lot of these players that played in that last tournament here [in UAE] as well. We know that because we are champions we can go far. The players are using that as motivation.
“When you’re rating these conditions with other venues in the UAE, I think Abu Dhabi is the best pitch for batters.
“Once the ball gets softer it’s much easier to bat here, and the outfield is very nice. Every batsman wants to play in Abu Dhabi.”