The post Tamim opts out of T20 WC appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>The Twenty20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14 and Bangladesh have been put in preliminary round Group B for the tournament, against Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Oman.
“I just called and talked over the phone with our board president [Nazmul Hassan] Papon bhai and chief selector [Minhajul Abedin] Nannu bhai. I shared a few things with them which I think I should share with everyone. I told them that I do not think I should be in the [T20] World Cup team. I am basically not available for the World Cup,” Tamim said in a Facebook live from his official account today.
The sudden announcement from the Bangladesh ODI skipper comes hours before the Tigers are scheduled to play first of their five T20Is against New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
Tamim, however, pointed out the reasons behind his decision.
“There are two or three reasons behind my decision. I think game time is one of the biggest reasons. I am not playing this format for a while now. Secondly, injury. But I do not think the injury is a big problem because I hope that I will recover before the World Cup,” said Tamim.
“However, the main reason behind this decision is that it would have been fair for the players who have been playing in my absence for the last 15-16 T20Is if I suddenly come back and snatch away their position from them. Probably, I would have been in the squad for the World Cup — I am not sure but I can assume that. But I don’t think that would have been fair,” added Tamim.
Tamim last played a T20I in March 2020 against Zimbabwe. Since then, Bangladesh have played 11 T20Is — three during their tour of New Zealand, three away to Zimbabwe and then the Tigers hosted Australia for five T20Is last month — all of which Tamim missed either due to injury or for opting out due to personal reasons.
The country’s top opener is now currently recovering from a knee injury that saw him skip the sole Test against Zimbabwe in July this year and only allowed him to play the three ODIs against Zimbabwe by ‘managing his pain’. The injury is also seeing him miss the five T20Is against New Zealand, starting from today.
Tamim later also clarified that he is not retiring from the format and that he will just not be available for selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup. He also wished the Bangladesh team his very best for the mega event.
The 32-year-old also requested the media and everyone else to respect his privacy and refrain from contacting him over the phone or through WhatsApp regarding his decision of excluding himself from selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
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]]>The post Tamim looks forward to Zimbabwe series appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Tamim, the first national cricketer to speak on the issue of Australia’s reluctance, came up with his mind while signing as a brand ambassador of Gold Mark biscuit at a city hotel.
‘Let bygones be bygones’, Tamim told reporters on the occasion. ‘But there was reason behind it,’ he added.
‘But what will happen in future we can think about it,’ said Tamim.
‘I am not sure what had happened as the fixture is yet to be confirmed.
‘I always believe the more we play the better for us as we are a young team and can improve no matter whether it is Twenty20 or ODI or something else,’ he said.
‘Naturally it was disappointing not to play against Australia. If we could represent for Bangladesh in Tests against Australia it would be great but there was a reason behind it and we did not have anything in our hands,’ he said.
‘I am sure BCB is looking after it and sooner or later we will be playing against them,’ said the southpaw.
Tamim, however, feels that the time was not totally wasted in the meantime as the national cricketers could participate in National Cricket League, a tournament on which they are often critisised for not showing enough interest to.
‘At the same time it was good that national cricketers were available in the NCL as we usually don’t get chances to play in the tournament,’ said Tamim.
‘We played four matches and it was like playing a lot of matches as we were in cricket for the whole year,’ he said,
‘I think there won’t be any complain regarding the standard of NCL,’ he added.
Tamim signed a two-year contract with Gold Mark, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim, who ended his one-year tenure earlier.
-With New Age input
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]]>The post Mashrafee recovers from dengue appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Mashrafee was admitted to Apollo Hospital with dengue fever on October 9.
The ailment delayed the ODI and T20I captain’s plan to return to first-class cricket through the third round of the National Cricket League.
-With New Age input
The post Mashrafee recovers from dengue appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>The post Taijul to miss 2 more weeks appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Taijul had to sit out from the Elite Players Conditioning Camp from August 26 to take full rest after being diagnosed with jaundice and his participation in the camp was subject to the outcome of his next medical checkup.
‘Taijul will have to take rest till September 21,’ BCB physician Debashish Chowdhury told New Age on Monday.
‘We had his check which revealed that improvement was not satisfactory.’
The illness put his participation in two-Test series against Australia in jeopardy with the Aussies scheduled to arrive on September 28.
-With New Age input
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]]>The post Sakib is the key, believes Mushfiq appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>‘I am looking forward to him [Sakib al Hasan],’ Mushfiq told reporters at the match venue.
‘If he can do exceptionally well then surely we can win this Test match,’ said Mushfiq.
Sakib had been the major contributor for the Tigers across all formats and his service had been crucial in most of the Test matches where they had done reasonably well or achieved victory.
But that had not been the case in the recent times as he was far from his best in the Test format.
If the hosts are to take 20 wickets and beat the visitors in the last Test then certainly he needs to pull up his socks to guide his team, especially in the bowling department, believed Mushfiq.
Without Sakib’s note-worthy performance it is thought to be extremely difficult much alike Pakistan, who are struggling due to the off-form of their ace-spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Pakistan had opted to ignore Ajmal in the opening Test match after his below-par performance failed to put an impact on the opponents during the shorter version matches earlier in the tour.
Though Sakib hardly have any chance of facing the same fate barring injury, it is high time that he comes up with his best, preciously in the bowling department.
Sakib picked only two wickets in his last two Test matches raising bit of a concern in the mind of Test skipper Mushfiq.
‘You can say it’s a bit of a concern,’ said Mushfiq.
‘Because he is our leading bowler it is expected that he will pick five or six wickets,’ said the skipper.
‘When he failed to do so, it seems that he could not deliver according to his reputations,’ he said.
Mushfiq added that he is optimistic regarding Sakib as the match is happening at SBNS.
Sakib had always been a major contributor in the venue for the Tigers.
In the 12 Test matches that he has played so far here, he picked 43 wickets and scored 956 runs with an average of 43.45.
Sakib managed to score altogether 2860 runs from 38 matches in his Test career.
In the last game against Pakistan at this venue, Sakib scored 150 runs and picked seven wickets that included his 144 runs in the first innings followed by 6-82 from 40.5 overs.
Though Bangladesh don’t require him to blaze with the bat as often as he used to do in the past considering the new-found depth in their batting they would want him to be taking the major role in the bowling department.
With Rubel Hossain being ruled out the responsibility lies even greater on the broad shoulder of the southpaw.
‘Sakib always had done well in Mirpur,’ said Mushfiq.
‘If he can to do what he did earlier in this venue then [it is possible],’ he said.
-With New Age input
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]]>The post Nasir features in Canada T20 appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Nasir, the only Bangladeshi to have featured in the game at the Rogers Centre One Blue Jays Way, was expensive with the ball, giving away 22 runs in his only over of the innings that saw the International XI side amass 164-6 in 20 overs.
But he made a decent contribution with the bat, having joined the side at the eleventh hour, as he made 21 from 20 balls with three fours to help Asia XI reach 167-7 with one over to spare.
The game lost some of its star power with the late news that the Pakistan Cricket Board is looking to prepare its team for a tour of Sri Lanka, had refused to release six players among whom were the names of Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez.
Without the Pakistan players, the Asia XI turned into a hybrid line-up with the addition of five Canadian players of Asian origin.
South Africa’s Mark Boucher captained the International XI while Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya led the Asia XI.
Former West Indies great Brian Lara was expected to lead the International squad. He was present at the venue and was seen sitting on the bench in civilian clothes.
But there were many superstars playing on the field like Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq and Zimbabwe’s Grant Flower. A temporary synthetic strip was laid like
a Band-Aid in the middle of the Rogers Centre turf, which is actually a baseball stadium.
Batting first, the International XI were propelled by West Indian batsman Devon Smith, later named man of the match, who led the way with 69 from 63 balls, hitting seven fours.
Smith was well supported by Zimbabwean Brendon Taylor who made 34 from 16 balls with two fours and three sixes.
The Asia XI reached their target without any serious trouble as Jayasuriya gave them a good start, clobbering seven fours and a six in his 41 from 24 balls.
He was well supported by Canadian Hiral Patel (39) and Nasir.
-With New Age input
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]]>The post Nasir denied Canada visa appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Nasir denied Canada visa
Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain cannot go to Canada due to visa complications.
Nasir was scheduled to fly out for Canada tomorrow to play a T20 exhibition match between Asia XI and Rest of the World XI to be held in Toronto on May 12, but he didn’t get the visa to travel.
“I’m not going [to Canada] because I didn’t get the visa. I don’t know why I was denied,” said Nasir.
Bangladesh Cricket Board’s cricket operations committee informed that they tried to solve the issue but ultimately there was no chance for Nasir to play the match.
Cricket Canada has arranged the match to raise funds for the development of the sport in the country and they confirmed Nasir for the Asia XI for an amount of 5,000 Canadian dollars.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>The post Akram’s heroic decision appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>As he submitted the resignation letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday morning, messages from former teammates poured in; his family and friends have backed him fully. More importantly, Akram has won the respect of almost everyone interested in Bangladesh cricket, be it the former and current players, fans as well as some officials.
As a man who has broken the mould by becoming the first chief selector to resign his post, Akram definitely had a mighty decision to take but after a wait of a day and a half, he came to the conclusion that his exit would be the dignified choice.
But it was a decision that had to be taken by someone at some stage. Akram, with all his playing experience and time as a selector, thought long and hard and resisted persuasion from his colleagues Habibul Bashar and Minhazul Abedin.
“We had a long discussion yesterday and whatever Nannu bhai and Sumon told me were logical,” said Akram yesterday. “But ever since I became a selector 4-5 years ago, there were a lot of things that happened with regards to selection which made me unhappy.”
“After I became the chief selector last year, there were problems from the beginning which I tried to settle and sometimes succeeded in doing so. I had to bear the brunt of such issues, so I decided that it is better to step down,” added the man who led Bangladesh to the seminal ICC Trophy triumph in 1997.
“The ACC tells us to give a 15-man team for the Asia Cup but Tamim was removed and made a standby. We took the decision on his inclusion after seeing physio Vibhav Singh and Dr Debashish Roy’s report,” said Akram.
“I wasn’t even informed of the change; I got to know like you did which really hurt me. I have a piece of paper to prove it but I don’t know what Nannu bhai is saying,” he said when told that the other former captain has said that there was no interference.
But Tamim’s isn’t the first name to be slashed at the whim of the board president and directors who are members of the technical committee.
“One incident happened with Ashraful, when he was picked against Pakistan last year. We had Rokibul Hasan and Shuvogoto Hom as middle-order candidates but they weren’t scoring big. Ashraful was scoring at that time and we wanted him to play two Tests but he didn’t play. We weren’t able to take that decision independently,” he said.
Akram has also hinted that the cricket board is hampering the team’s stability. “A team can only do well if they have established players. Take a look around the world; a player who is established in a certain position will do better. My target was to make an established team, but we had to tinker with it,” explained Akram.
Bashar said that the decision has come as a shock to him. “We have worked together for seven months, and I believe that we have worked hard and honestly. For us it is a little shocking,” he said.
In the face of utmost pressure, a man most unlikely to walk out has boldly done so. This is a decision that will give Bangladesh cricket a lot of strength at a time of tremendous need.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>The post Cloud over cricket appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>Akram Khan quit as chief selector yesterday, thirty-six hours after Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal dropped Tamim Iqbal from the Asia Cup squad.
The resignation of the former national captain is being hailed by the cricket community as the meddling in team selection is rapidly outgrowing the national cricket team’s performance.
The penny dropped on Monday night, when Kamal sent Akram an e-mail where a 14-member squad was put together, dropping one player from the fifteen selected originally. Akram’s immediate reaction was to tell the media that Tamim was in his selected squad.
But ultimately, despite holding a long discussion with co-selectors Habibul Bashar and Minhazul Abedin who had reportedly tried to dissuade him, Akram decided to relinquish the pivotal position.
“I wasn’t comfortable [as the chief selector] but I always hoped it would be alright,” said Akram from the selectors’ office in Mirpur yesterday.
“Day after day, the problems piled up and I had to resign. My job is not a private matter, but a national issue.
“A decision that I make can benefit everyone or the exact opposite can happen. I have resigned because I couldn’t do my work in a proper way,” added Akram.
Khaled Mahmud, another former national captain, has stood firmly behind Akram and his decision.
“I salute Akram Khan for taking a wise decision,” said the former Tigers all-rounder. “He is one of the heroes of Bangladesh cricket and only a man of his stature could take this decision.
“Everyone is worried about where the whole affair of the cricket is headed,” added Mahmud.
After taking over from Rafiqul Alam in April last year, Akram ran into trouble after the technical committee — a body to oversee team selections — began poking nose in his business.
The squad selected for the Zimbabwe series had to be delayed as a result but Akram had mentioned at the time that rather than hindering the process, the committee should have a reviewing role. Kamal however couldn’t correct the technical committee, made of highly influential BCB directors; he went on to interfere further, making sure the teams were approved at his whim rather than by men of cricket.
During last year’s Pakistan series, the declaration of the team for the second Test was delayed till the day before the match; the contentious issues being Mohammad Ashraful and Shahriar Nafees as Akram has revealed now.
Akram’s resignation is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as the ongoing trouble in Bangladesh cricket is concerned.
Without any focus on pertinent issues like setting up a proper first-class cricket structure and stabilising the cricket board, Kamal & Co are more inclined to appease personal goals.
Starting from the president’s obsession with the ICC presidency and the board directors’ tremendous interest in the Bangladesh Premier League, the Kamal-led BCB has also brusquely taken away the captaincy from Shakib Al Hasan and not to mention meddle in almost every squad selected in the last three years.
Akram’s resignation has posed two critical questions to the current cricket board: whether it is adamant to push out cricketers and whether it believes in professionalism.
-With The Daily Star input
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]]>The post ‘Kamal drops Tamim’ appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.
]]>The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday named a 14-member Bangladesh team for the forthcoming Asia Cup, leaving out Tamim Iqbal. Chief selector Akram Khan said last night that BCB chief AHM Mustafa Kamal cut Tamim from the national team.
“Tamim Iqbal was dropped by [BCB president] Mustafa Kamal. He was in the team that we submitted,” said the former national captain. The left-handed opener was given a clean bill of health on Sunday, having recovered from a groin injury he suffered during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Akram’s outburst was the boiling over of emotions having already overseen such unnecessary influences by the president from the moment he took over after the World Cup last year. He had bravely fought against the technical committee which has been coolly dismantled but this could be the last straw.The extraordinary meddling by Kamal is no surprise as the national team selection has been wrapped in red-tape ever since he took over. Quite literally, the approval and declaration depends on several hands and not just the might of the chief selector’s pen which has been the case in previous regimes.
It has long been believed that the sole influence of the selection panel, made up of no fewer than three former national captains, is just a rule of thumb; it is rather the Bangladesh Cricket Board president who holds the ultimate privilege to give the final green signal, after it is okayed by the board’s cricket operations committee. As usual, the entire tedious process was repeated for this squad which had to be trimmed to fourteen members with six standby players including Tamim.
Another glaring exclusion from the squad was the identities of the captain and vice-captain, and this is thought to be a result of incumbent skipper Mushfiqur Rahim’s outburst following the BPL semifinalists mix-up.
Apart from the opener, Alok Kapali, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shahriar Nafees and Forhad Reza were also given the boot. Jahurul Islam, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain and new face Anamul Haque are the inclusions.
Jahurul deserves the recall after playing his last game for the Tigers one and a half years ago while Mashrafe returns after eleven months having undergone a knee surgery last year. Shahadat won back a place probably due to a lack of choices while Anamul has impressed over the past two seasons for the Bangladesh A team as well as in the domestic tournaments.
This time Kamal’s whereabouts had to be traced somewhere between Karachi, Dubai and London as he was off to the United Kingdom yesterday. After Akram passed on his team to the committee led by Enayet Hossain Siraj, the mechanism in Mirpur tried to get in touch with Kamal, who upon contact approved the squad after making the changes.
-With The Daily Star input
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