United News of Bangladesh

England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith will miss the team's test tour of the New Zealand over November and December because he will be on paternity leave for the birth of his first child. Jordan Cox will take the gloves for the tour and looks set to win his first test cap during the three-match series. Batting allrounder Jacob Bethell, 21, was called up to a test squad for the first time, having made his international debut in the summer in T20 and ODI matches against Australia. The 16-man squad will be captained by Ben Stokes and play tests in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton. The first test in Christchurch starts Nov. 28. England is coming off a 2-1 series loss in Pakistan. ___ Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first in the Chattogram Test against Bangladesh on Tuesday.  Bangladesh made three changes to their playing XI, keeping Litton Das, Jaker Ali Anik, and Nayeem Hasan out to pave the way for Zakir Hasan, debutant Mahidul Islam Ankon, and Nahid Rana.  Litton was out due to a fever, while Jaker has been suffering from a concussion.  Bangladesh played one pacer in the Dhaka Test, which they lost by seven wickets. But in Chattogram, Bangladesh opted for two pacers.  South Africa made two changes, including Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Paterson in the places of  Matthew Breetzke and Dane Piedt. Bangladesh aim win in 2nd Test against South Africa As South Africa won the first match, a win or draw in Chattogram will ensure the series for them.  This series is part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. South Africa are currently in fifth place in the points table, while Bangladesh are in eighth.  Bangladesh playing XI: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Zakir Hasan, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.  South Africa playing XI: Aiden Markram (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Ryan Rickelton, Senuran Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Paterson.

Rohit Sharma will lead an 18-man squad as India looks to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy across five tests against Australia starting November 22. India will look to bounce back from its first home test series loss in 12 years against New Zealand in order to confirm qualification for the 2025 World Test Championship final. It needs to win four of its remaining six tests this WTC cycle and will be aiming for a third straight test win in Australia following 2-1 victories in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Three uncapped players have been named to a squad missing pacer Mohammed Shami. Opening batter Abhimanyu Easwaran is included, along with all-rounder Nitish Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana. The remainder of the squad is along expected lines – young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to lead the charge, along with Virat Kohli, who has averaged 54.08 in 13 tests in Australia. Lokesh Rahul has been included, despite inconsistent form, along with Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 150 against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are the two keeper-batters. Pant was the architect of India’s last series’ win in Australia, playing a match-winning knock at the Gabba. Brisbane will host the third test. Three spinners were also named with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, both possibly facing their last Australian tour, joined by Washington Sundar, who picked 11 wickets in the second test against New Zealand. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been left out due to a chronic groin issue and will seek treatment at home. Shami is the biggest absentee as he is yet to recover from an Achilles’ injury sustained after the 2023 Cricket World Cup. He was expected to return for the home series against New Zealand, but suffered a setback with a knee issue. Although Shami has declared himself fit, and has been posting videos of himself bowling in the nets on social media, the national selectors ignored him from the initial squad. If he does play domestic cricket in November, Shami could be included in the Indian squad from the third test onwards. Adelaide will host the second test, a day-night encounter, and there is sufficient time until the third as India will also play a two-day day-night practice game ahead of the Adelaide test. India has also named three traveling pace reserves in Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini. For the first time since 1991-92, Australia will host India in a five-test series and it will become the norm for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the future. Melbourne and Sydney will host the Boxing Day and New Year’s tests as per Australian tradition. India has also named its T20 squad that will travel to South Africa for a four-match series starting November 8. Suryakumar Yadav leads the T20 side once again, with all-rounder Shivam Dube, batter Riyan Parag and pacer Mayank Yadav missing due to injuries. Durban, Gquberha, Centurion and Johannesburg will host the four games, with the series ending on November 15. India’s squad for Australia tests: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. India’s squad for South Africa T20s: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.

Bangladesh are set to take on South Africa in the second Test on Tuesday in a bid to register a win after losing the series opener in Dhaka. This series is a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC Test Championship. Bangladesh made two changes to their squad ahead of this match. Taskin Ahmed and Jaker Ali were axed to pave the way for Khaled Ahmed and uncapped Mahidul Islam Ankan. South Africa beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets Mahidul replaced Jaker on Monday afternoon. He has suffered a concussion in the neck. Bangladesh team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said Jaker was advised not to play for now due to clinical reasons. “He has a history of concussions and is still showing symptoms. Given his previous concussion record, recovery may take some time,” Bayjedul said. Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam said they are looking forward to winning this match. While the team is eyeing a win, Bangladesh’s captain Najmul Hossain Shanto informed the board that he will not continue as the captain following the upcoming Test. But the board is yet to decide his future. A board official said they think there is a scope of discussion with the captain. In the first match, Bangladesh lost by seven wickets. Batters failed to offer any strong challenge to South Africa. Taijul, the left-arm spinner, bagged eight wickets in the match with a five-for. Chattogram wickets are helpful for the batters. Taijul said this match is an opportunity for the batters to come back to form, which may help them get confidence back for the future. Kagiso Rabasa, left-arm pacer, was the star of the show for South Africa in Dhaka. He bagged nine wickets in the match. Bangladesh played 24 Tests in Chattogram, with two wins and seven draws. Bangladesh never won a Test against South Africa despite 15 meetings.

Facundo Torres scored in the first half, Martin Ojeda found the net in the second, and Pedro Gallese notched his fourth postseason clean sheet to lead Orlando City to a 2-0 victory over Charlotte FC on Sunday night in a best-of-three first-round match for the MLS Cup. Orlando City, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute and carried it into halftime when the club's all-time leading scorer Torres scored unassisted with a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the top left corner of the goal. It was his club-record 19th goal this season across all competitions. Orlando City took a two-goal lead in the 76th minute when Martin Ojeda scored with assists from Iván Angulo and César Araújo. It was the first postseason goal for Ojeda in his first start and third appearance. Angulo's helper was his first in five playoff appearances — all starts. Araújo's assist was his second in five postseason starts. Gallese finished with two saves for Orlando City. He has allowed eight goals in seven postseason starts — all with OC. Kristijan Kahlina saved five shots for fifth-seeded Charlotte. Kahlina's only postseason appearance came last season when he started in a 5-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls. A club-record 14 players scored for OC, leading to a club-record 59 goals during the regular season. Orlando City played Charlotte to a 2-2 draw on the road and a 2-0 victory at home during the regular season. Torres and Duncan McGuire had the OC goals in both matches. The series resumes on Friday in Charlotte, which had never been past the wildcard round until this season. The club closed out the regular season with a 4-0-1 record in its last five matches with the draw coming against top-seed Inter Miami.

Australia has left out all of its first-choice test team for the upcoming Twenty20 series against Pakistan so they can prepare for a five-test series against India starting later this month. In a congested month of cricket, Australia will play Pakistan in three one-day internationals starting Nov. 4, which is immediately followed by the three-match T20 series starting in Brisbane on Nov. 14. The third and final T20 is in Hobart on Nov. 18, just four days before the first test against India at Perth. Only Josh Inglis from the T20 squad is considered an outside possibility of being named to fill the vacant opening batter slot for the first test, with Nathan McSweeney and teenager Sam Konstas seemingly higher in the selection pecking order, along with Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft. Pace bowlers Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson have been recalled to the white-ball squad after recovering from injuries. “This group of players have all represented Australia in T20 cricket, so we look forward to them continuing to enhance their international experience throughout this series,” chairman of selectors George Bailey said in a written statement Monday. “It is particularly encouraging to have Xavier, Spencer and Nathan back in the national set-up." A captain, to replace the incumbent Mitch Marsh, has not yet been named. Inglis, Adam Zampa, or Glenn Maxwell are seen as the most likely contenders to be skipper for the three games in Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart. Pakistan named its T20 and ODI squads for its Australian tour on Sunday.

Bangladesh completed their Group B engagements of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup' 2025 Qualifiers losing to Afghanistan by 2-3 goals in their last group match at the Price Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday. With the day's defeat, Bangladesh was eliminated from the meet securing six points from four matches while Afghanistan poised for the final round securing full nine points from straight three matches. Bangladesh, which crushed Macau by 7-0 goals, beat the Philippines by 1-0 goal after conceding 0-1 defeat against hosts Cambodia, today (Sunday) dominated the first half by 2-1 goals. In the day's must win match, midfielder Mithu Chowdhury put Bangladesh ahead in the 6th minute (1-0) while Yaser Safi leveled the match in the 29th minute by long distance shot (1-1). Forward Murshed Ali again put Bangladesh ahead in the added time of the first half utilizing a corner of  captain Nazmul Huda Faysal (2-1) to go for the first half. Substitute booter Milad Noori and Arash Ahmadi scored two more  goals for Afghanistan in the 63rd  and 70th minutes respectively to win the match with the frustration of Bangladesh. Ten Asian Group champions and the five best group runners-up teams will qualify for the next year's final round of the meet.

Defending champions Bangladesh secured a place in the final of the 2024 SAFF Women's Championship with a commanding 7-1 victory over Bhutan in the first semifinal at Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Nepal’s Kathmandu on Sunday. Forward Tohura Khatun stole the show with a spectacular hat-trick, leading her team to victory and keeping their unbeaten record intact in this year's tournament. Bangladesh, who also defeated Bhutan 8-0 in the last SAFF Women’s Championship in 2022, once again proved their dominance. The team now advances to the final on October 30, where they will face either five-time champions India or host Nepal, who compete in the second semifinal later today at the same venue. Bangladesh to play Bhutan, Nepal face India in SAFF semis Sunday In a game that saw Bangladesh dominate from start to finish, Tohura Khatun opened her scoring spree early and found the net three times. Captain Sabina Khatun also shone, adding two goals, while Ritu Porna Chakma and Masura Parvin contributed one goal each, giving Bangladesh a 5-1 lead by halftime. Ritu Porna Chakma opened the scoring for Bangladesh in the 7th minute with a skillful shot from outside the box, making it 1-0. Just eight minutes later, Tohura doubled the lead with a powerful long-distance strike (2-0). Captain Sabina Khatun extended the advantage in the 26th minute, tapping in a pass from Monika Chakma to make it 3-0. Tohura continued her stunning performance with a second goal in the 35th minute, maneuvering past a Bhutanese defender before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box (4-0). Sabina followed up with her second goal just two minutes later, placing the ball past the Bhutanese goalkeeper with ease (5-0). Bhutan managed a consolation goal in the 42nd minute, with forward Daki Lhazom scoring to make it 5-1 as the teams went into halftime. Tohura completed her hat-trick in the 58th minute, skillfully placing a shot from inside the box to bring the score to 6-1. With this performance, Tohura emerged as the tournament's third-highest scorer, with five goals, and was named Player of the Match. She dedicated her trophy to her former coach, Golam Rabbani Choton, saying, “This win and the hat-trick are both for him.” Defender Masura Parvin sealed the emphatic victory in the 72nd minute with a well-placed header from a corner kick, bringing the final score to 7-1. Bangladesh’s path to the final has been marked by impressive performances, including a 3-1 victory over five-time champions India in the group stage and a dramatic 1-1 draw with Pakistan, secured by Shamsunnahar Jr.’s last-minute equalizer. Bhutan’s semifinal journey included a dominant 13-0 win over the Maldives and a 4-1 victory against Sri Lanka, following a scoreless draw with Nepal in group play.    

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been demoted in the new central contracts offered to 25 players by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday. Former all-format captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were retained on the top tier contracts, while fast bowler Naseem Shah, test captain Shan Masood and Afridi are in category B. The PCB didn't give a reason why Afridi had been downgraded but did say Masood’s contract level was subject to whether he continues to lead the national team in red-ball cricket. Masood lost six successive test matches since he was appointed test captain last year before Pakistan's rally to beat England 2-1 in its home test series on Saturday. The new contracts are from July 1, 2024 to June 30 next year. New Zealand hands India its first home test series loss since 2012 The notable omissions from the list are batters Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq, along with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz. The PCB didn’t say why contracts were not offered to these three players. Spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who bagged 39 wickets in Pakistan's two convincing victories against England in the test series, are in category C. However, the PCB said left-arm spinner Ali's contract is subject to his fitness. All-rounder Shadab Khan and fast bowler Haris Rauf were also downgraded apparently because of Pakistan’s below-par performances in white-ball cricket this year, which included an early exit from T20 World Cup where it lost group matches against the U.S. and India. The PCB said as part of its “strategy to incentivize, encourage and reward talented and emerging cricketers,” five players — Khurram Shahzad, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Irfan Khan and Usman Khan — were offered central contracts for the first time. Shanto unwilling to continue as Bangladesh captain: report Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan. Category B: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood (subject to captaincy). Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Noman Ali (subject to fitness), Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub. Category D: Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Hurraira, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Ali, Usman Khan, Irfan Khan, Haseebullah Khan, Abbas Afridi, Kamran Ghulam.

Herve Renard was hired to coach Saudi Arabia for a second time on Saturday, two days after the departure of Roberto Mancini. “I'm back,” Renard said in a social media video posted by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation. The Frenchman most recently coached France women to the Paris Olympics quarterfinals. He was previously in charge of Saudi Arabia from 2019-23, a tenure that included a famous 2-1 win over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “I did not intend to leave (Saudi). But when your country knocks on your door you have to respond,” Renard said. “My connection with Saudi, the fans, the players and all the memories — I can never forget. I did not finish my story with Saudi.” Renard’s contract will run until the end of 2025 with an option to extend until the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Mancini was hired by Saudi Arabia in August 2023 having led Italy to victory at the 2021 European Championship. But the serial trophy winner was quickly under pressure after an underwhelming Asian Cup in January and an exit in the round of 16. In Asia’s third round of World Cup qualifying that started in September, Saudi Arabia has collected just five points from four games. This month at home it lost to Japan 2-0 and drew with Bahrain 0-0. It left Saudi third place in the six-team group. The top two qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup while the third- and fourth-placed finishers progress to the fourth stage. Renard’s first game back in charge is against Australia in Melbourne on Nov. 14.