Dhaka Gladiators reconfirmed the availability of Pakistan superstar Shahid Afridi in the first edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in the wake of his presence in Bangladesh once again being questioned. A media release sent by the Gladiators on Sunday said that Afridi and his compatriot Saeed Ajmal will be available for the Dhaka franchise ... Read more
Cricket
BPL won’t change rule for Sylhet
Bangladesh Premier League’s governing council are adamant to keep the icon players’ magnitude intact after one franchise protested their latest ruling. The Sylhet Royals are urging the authorities to change the decision that was taken on Saturday which had the six icons — Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali
Good and bad news for BPL
Icons get $210k It was a mixed day for the Bangladesh Premier League as an international cricketer turned down the chance to play the competition’s inaugural season. At the same time, the proposed link with a major television channel could boost the Twenty20 tournament. West Indies captain Darren Sammy has put his own country’s domestic ... Read more
Bangladesh A up 2-1
Bangladesh A regained the lead in the five-match series after they defeated England Lions by 75 runs in the third one-dayer at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday. The victory ensured a 2-1 lead for the home side with two games to play in Sylhet on January 16 and 18 respectively. It was ... Read more
Sylhet franchise targets Akram
Most of the franchises have started to move forward with their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) teams following their acquirements during the bidding programme on Tuesday. The players’ list has also been confirmed and given to the franchises. Eighty-two local players will be put together under three categories. Six top cricketers — Mashrafe Bin Mortaza,
Chittagong priciest at $1.2m
The six franchises of the Bangladesh Premier League were sold off in a trice. In the hour-long bidding programme held at a local hotel in the city yesterday, only one franchise was sold at a significantly higher price than the base price while the others barely got off the ground. The absence of big corporate ... Read more
Jahurul ton stalls Biman
Out-of-favour Jahurul Islam slammed the first hundred in the ongoing Premier Division Cricket League as star-studded Victoria Sports Club started their campaign with a 21-run victory against Bangladesh Biman in the high-scoring match at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium yesterday. Shakib Al Hasan was off-colour in the first game but opener Tamim Iqbal returned among the
Mash’s wait almost over
If you want to know how painful it is for a cricketer to be a mere spectator for almost an entire year, you can ask pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. It has never been a smooth journey for the ‘Narail Express’ because of persistent injuries since his international debut in November 2001 against Zimbabwe. The ... Read more
First-class not BCB’s first priority?
Friday’s cancellation of the National Cricket League matches is just the tip of the iceberg in Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) continuous disregard for the first-class game. During the first part of the 2011-12 season, the BCB scheduled the NCL into two parts (split by the Eid-ul-Fitr break in mid-November), both of which had domestic international ... Read more
Shakib, a cut above
It was always going to take a very special cricketer to replace a man of Jacques Kallis’s stature. The South African is already regarded as a legend of the game with his unparalleled record with the bat and ball in all formats. By sheer number, Kallis has defeated competition for his throne and has kept ... Read more
Another accolade for Shakib
Shakib Al Hasan yet again brought up some respect for the struggling Bangladesh cricket team as he became the number-one ranked all-rounder in the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings, an ICC press release said on Thursday. His outstanding achievement came at the moment when critics raised their vocal high following Bangladesh’s calamitous performance in longer ... Read more
From safety to defeat
Pakistan win Test series 2-0 An unlikely resistance came from Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain on the fifth and final day but their efforts were not good enough for Bangladesh to save the second Test against Pakistan and sign off the year on a bright note yesterday. Pakistan made a clean sweep by winning all ... Read more
Mushfiq takes the blame
The tendency to take risks in a stable position has hurt the Tigers once more though skipper Mushfiqur Rahim owned up to his error in judgment after the seven-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the second Test. “Of course I will take the blame. If I didn’t get out, we could have batted 30 minutes more. ... Read more
Misbah was waiting for new ball
Pakistan were waiting for the new ball that they never needed to break the resistance of Nasir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim, said skipper Misbah-ul Haq after a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second Test on Wednesday. Nasir and Mushfiq denied Pakistan any wicket on the fifth morning and threatened to kill
Kamal gets BCB nod for top ICC post
Bangladesh Cricket Board on Wednesday named its president AHM Mustafa Kamal as Bangladesh’s candidate for the International Cricket Council vice-president post for the next two years. The nomination paved the way for Kamal to eventually become ICC chief as the vice-president usually takes over as president of the global cricket oversight
Pakistan on top despite Sakib’s heroics
Sakib al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to hit a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same Test but his efforts look like being in a losing cause after Pakistan seized control of the second Test. All-rounder Sakib followed his first-innings 144 with the bat by snapping up six for 82 ... Read more
Fifth-time lucky Sakib
It was almost inevitable in some stages of Sakib al Hasan’s career. He created at least four opportunities in the past, came close on two occasions and missed it agonisingly. But anyone with the slightest idea of his capability as an all-rounder knew Sakib would get a five-for in an innings and a century in ... Read more
It’s just not part of game
In cricket, the common phrase is that catches win matches but Bangladesh provided an example in the ongoing second Test of how catches can also cost a side a match too. The joy of the home side of taking all 10 Pakistani wickets was short-lived as they lost five wickets for 114 runs in the ... Read more
Pakistan had full faith in bowlers
Pakistan had little doubt that bowlers could take them to an winning position if they could get a sizeable total with the bat, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said after fourth day’s play in the second Test on Tuesday. Two wickets each from Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema ripped the heart out of Bangladesh’s batting order as ... Read more
Tigers let Pakistan off the hook
Bangladesh paid the price for poor fielding by allowing Pakistan to claw their way back in the second Test as the visitors closed in on a first innings lead reaching 292-3 on the third day on Monday. Taufiq Umar made the most of Bangladesh’s sloppy fielding to score his seventh Test century which took Pakistan ... Read more