Sports
Jatiya Press Club sports festival begins
A sports festival began Sunday with chess competition at the Abdus Salam Hall of the Jatiya Press Club (JPC) to mark the 67th founding anniversary of the club.
JPC President Farida Yesmin inaugurated the competition in the morning amid the great enthusiasm of the club members.
JPC Senior Vice-President Hasan Hafiz, Joint Secretary Ashraf Ali, Treasurer Shahed Chowdhury; EC members Kazi Rownak Hossain, Banu Ranjan Chakraborthy and Baktier Rana were also present.
JPC EC member and convener of the sports subcommittee Shahnaj Siddiqui Soma conducted the Walton-sponsored programme.
Read: Sports Festival of Jatiya Press Club begins
Thirty-two players are taking part in the five-round Swiss League based two-day competition.
After the first two rounds on the first day, four players – Mohammad Rahim Uddin, Tapon Biwas, Nizamul Haque Bipul and Shahzad Mahmud Saifuddin – are dominating the meet, securing full two points each.
Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain followed the leaders with 1.5 points.
The remaining three rounds of the meet will be held Monday from 11am at the same venue.
World Mental Health Day: What effect does depression have on the performance of athletes?
Anxiety has a massive psychological impact and mental health issues have become a frequently discussed topic in sports. Depression is a mental illness that is impacting an increasing number of athletes. This is related to a variety of clinical issues. Players with mental health issues experience depression and long-term sadness, both of which can have a negative impact on their performance. The main theme of World Mental Health Day 2021 as well as the impact of depression in sports are discussed in this article.
What is World Mental Health Day's Purpose?
World Mental Health Day is commemorated every year on October 10 with the purpose of raising awareness and disseminating knowledge about anxiety and depression throughout the world.
This day should be taken as an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health and educate people all around the world, particularly those who are depressed.
READ: Mental Health: Types of Mental Illness and supporting someone with a mental health problem
Depression is a prevalent mental health ailment, and those who suffer from it are at risk of dying young. Mental health should be a concern for everyone, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
World Mental Health Day was first celebrated in the year 1992, by the World Federation for Mental Health. The goal of the day was to encourage mental health advocacy and educate the public on pertinent problems. Given the campaign's popularity, a subject for the day was chosen for the first time in 1994. This year's (World Mental Health Day 2021) theme is "Mental health care for all: let's make it a reality,"
Aminul axed, Rubel to stay with Bangladesh team
Right-arm pacer Rubel Hossain has been added to the Bangladesh squad as an additional player while Aminul Islam Biplop has been axed for now, who was touring Oman with the team.
The World Cup is set to begin on October 17 in Oman. In the first match, Bangladesh will take on Scotland on October 17. Before that, the Tigers to play two warm-up matches in the UAE.
Rubel and Aminul were travelling with the national team as the additional players. On Saturday, the selection panel of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) axed Aminul and kept Rubel with the team.
Read: Tigers trounce Oman A in warm-up match
“Rubel is staying with the team,” said Habibul Bashar, the national selector. “There are some injury concerns with our pace-bowlers so we decided to keep Rubel in Oman. If we need to, we can play him.”
Bangladesh team is all set to head to Abu Dhabi, UAE on Sunday to play two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland before returning to Oman on 15 October for Round 1 of the World Cup.
Bangladesh T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Soumya Sarkar, Litton Kumar Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain, Rubel Hossain.
Shakib, Mustafiz set to leave IPL to join national team
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Mustafizur Rahman are set to leave their IPL teams – Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals – to join the national side ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The Tigers are now in Oman, and they were scheduled to travel to the UAE Saturday to play two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland. However, the fixture has been changed, and the national team will travel to the UAE Sunday.
In this season of IPL, Shakib played only five matches and scored 38 runs, and bagged five wickets while Mustafiz played 14 matches and scalped as many wickets.
Read: IPL 2021: Who will play whom in the playoffs?
Mustafiz's Rajasthan ended their IPL campaign as the seventh team, winning only five out of 14 matches. Shakib's Kolkata managed to secure a play-off place. They will now play Rajasthan Royals in an eliminator match on October 11.
On Friday, the Tigers played a practice match in Oman against the Oman A team and won the match by 60 runs.
Read: IPL 2021: Delhi secure Qualifier 1 with 3-wicket win against Chennai
Bangladesh will travel back to the Gulf state on October 15 to take part in the first round of the World Cup, which will begin on October 17.
In this round, Bangladesh will take on Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea.
Junaid Siddique to play in T10 League
Former Bangladesh opener Junaid Siddique will take part in this year’s T20 League in the UAE. He will represent Maratha Arabians, the franchise confirmed.
Maratha Arabians are the current champions of the T10 League.
Junaid is the second person from Bangladesh after Mohammad Saifuddin who will play in this league.
Read: Tigers trounce Oman A in warm-up match
The left-handed batter played his last international match in November 2012. Despite not being in the national setup, he has been a regular face in the domestic circuit.
He represented Bangladesh in 19 Tests, 59 ODIs and seven T20Is. He has more than 2000 runs under his belt in international cricket. He has two centuries-- one each in Tests and ODIs.
He played a total of 78 T20s in domestic cricket and scored 1489 runs with four fifties.
Ballon d'Or 2021: Meet the Nominees
The names of the 30 players who have been shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or 2021 award were published on Friday (October 8) by France Football magazine. There was speculation that they might give two awards this year, given the fact that the previous year's ceremony was canceled because of the Covid-19 epidemic. However, France football has only published the names of the nominees for this year's award. All the expected names have been selected for the award. Argentina's Lionel Messi leads the latest poll to win the trophy for the record seventh time. Let's take a look at the 2021 Ballon d'Or nominees.
The Ballon d'Or 2021 Candidates
Here are the players that have been shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or 2021 award by France football. Italy have a maximum of five players, followed by England with four, France, Spain, and Portugal with three, Argentina and Belgium with two, and Norway, Denmark, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Uruguay, Poland, and Brazil with one each.
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy)
Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma is the only goalkeeper in the list. He played a pivotal role in Italy’s EURO 2020 win.
Read: Ballon d'Or 2021: Five favorites to win the coveted award
Defenders
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea & Spain)
Spanish defender Azpilicueta won the Champions League with English side Chelsea.
Ruben Dias (Manchester City & Portugal)
Defender Ruben Dias was named Premier League’s player of the season 2020-2021.
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus & Italy)
Bonucci won EURO 2020 with Italy earlier this July.
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy)
Juventus and Italian Captain Giorgio Chiellini was the heart of Italy’s defense that won the EURO 2020.
Simon Kjær (AC Milan & Denmark)
Danish defender Simon Kjær had a terrific season with both AC Milan and Denmark.
Read Premier League club Newcastle bought by Saudi sovereign fund
Midfielders
Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
Playmaker Jorginho won two of the biggest trophies this summer. He helped Chelsea to win the Champions League 2021 and also played an important role for Italy to win UEFA European Championship 2020.
Pedri (Barcelona & Spain)
Barcelona’s young midfielder Pedri had an outstanding season with both club and country.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
Croatian midfielder Luka Modric played his part with Real Marid and earned a place in the 30-man shortlist for Ballon d'Or 2021 award.
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
Belgium midfielder Kevin was one of the star players for Manchester City last season and won the Premier League with the Citizens.
Phil Foden (Manchester City & England)
Foden is an excellent talent. This attacking midfielder showed his true class with both Manchester City and England in EURO 2020.
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea & France)
Kante was so instrumental in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph last May.
Mason Mount (Chelsea & England)
Mount is a young promising playmaker. He won the Champions League with Chelsea.
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan & Italy)
Barella won Serie A with Inter Milan and EURO 2020 with Italy's national side.
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United & Portugal)
Bruno was the best performer for Manchester United in the 2020/2021 season.
Read Brazil wins and Argentina draws away in World Cup qualifiers
Forwards
Lionel Messi (PSG & Argentina)
Messi finally won a trophy with the Argentina national side. He won Copa America 2021 and also won Copa del Rey with FC Barcelona.
Neymar (PSG & Brazil)
On an individual level, Neymar had a decent season with PSG.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United & Portugal)
Ronaldo was the top scorer in the 2020-2021 Italian Serie A season. He has been the top performer for Manchester United in the current season.
Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
Mbappe played well for both club and country and deservedly earned a place in the top 30 list.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland)
Bayern Munich striker broke several records in the 2020/2021 Bundesliga season.
Erling Haaland( (Borussia Dortmund & Norway)
Haaland was brilliant with Borussia Dortmund last season. He is an excellent finisher.
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan & Argentina)
Martinez helped Inter Milan to win Serie A for the first time in 10 years. He also played an important role in Argentina’s Copa America 2021 victory.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
Salah was the top performer for Liverpool in the 2020/2021 season.
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea & Belgium)
Lukaku inspired Inter Milan to win Serie A last season.
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City & Algeria)
The Algerian forward won the Premier League with Manchester City.
Harry Kane (Tottenham & England)
Kane was the top scorer in the 2020/2021 Premier League season.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France)
Benzema was the most consistent performer for Real Madrid in the 2020/2021 season. Karim has been playing well for France since making his comeback earlier this year.
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City & England)
Sterling had a stellar tournament with England in EURO 2020. With Manchester City, he also won the Premier League.
Read: Ballon d'Or 2021 Predictions: Lionel Messi in Pole Position to win
Bottom Line
The Chatelet Theatre in Paris will host the Ballon d'Or 2021 award ceremony on November 29. This year, there is no obvious favorite because a notable number of players are deserving of the honor. Therefore, panelists will have to consider a variety of factors before voting for a nominee. Individual performance (goals and assists), as well as silverware, are two important factors to take into account. Even though Lionel Messi is often considered the favorite to win the 2021 edition, Jorginho, Lewandowski, Kante, or Benzema cannot be ruled out.
IPL 2021: Who will play whom in the playoffs?
The IPL 2021 playoff lineups were confirmed after the end of the thrilling round-robin league phase on Friday (October 8). The table-topping Delhi Capitals are one of the early favorites to win the Indian Premier League's 14th edition. Probably, this is the final season of veteran cricketer MS Dhoni. Not to mention, all of Chennai's players would be keen to give Dhoni a proper farewell by winning the Indian Premier League. In Qualifier 1, both teams will compete for a spot in the final. On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the elimination match. Let's take a look at the favorites of the playoffs round.
IPL 2021: Lineups for the Playoffs
Qualifier 1 (DC vs. CSK)
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium | Date: October 10 | Time (BST): 8 pm
Verdict: Delhi favourite to beat CSK
At the end of the IPL 2021 round-robin league stage, Delhi Capitals came out on top of the point table. Delhi gained 20 points in the league phase by winning 10 games and losing four. Importantly, Delhi defeated Chennai in both of their league matches. In comparison to Chennai, Delhi's squad contains more talented young players and a good number of them are in tremendous forms. As a result, team Capitals will be more confident against the Super Kings ahead of the qualifier 1 encounter on Sunday. On the other side, Chennai have some experienced players who are expected to outperform the opponent in terms of game strategy and on-field displays.
READ: Tigers trounce Oman A in warm-up match
Delhi Capitals probable playing XI
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Ravi Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (Captain & wicket-keeper), Ripal Patel, Shimron Hetmyer,
Chennai Super Kings probable playing XI
Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali.
Read KKR vs. PBKS: KL Rahul guides Punjab to 5-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021
Eliminator (KKR vs. RCB)
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium | Date: October 11 | Time (BST): 8 pm
Verdict: Kolkata favourite to beat RCB
Shakib Al Hasan played in the last two Kolkata's round-robin league fixtures, helping his side to finish fourth in the points standings. Kolkata squad is now on a roll, and they have found a winning formula that they can rely on. Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore would be the Kolkata Knight Riders' eliminator opponent. The Bangalore team is also formidable enough to crush the opposite bowling lineups on any given day. Both teams have some extraordinary players and they won a round-robin league match against each other once. Therefore, this fixture promises to be fascinating.
READ: T20 World Cup warm-up match: Bangladesh take on Oman A Friday
Kolkata Knight Riders probable playing XI
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper)
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s probable playing XI
Virat Kohli (captain), Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers, Dan Christian, Shahbaz Ahmed, George Garton, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Read IPL 2021: Shakib's Kolkata leads over Mustafiz's Rajasthan in the playoffs race
Qualifier 2 (DC/CSK vs. KKR/RCB)
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium | Date: October 13 | Time (BST): 8 pm
The winner of the eliminator and the loser of qualifier 1 will compete for a final spot in the qualifier 2 match. Chennai and Delhi are the two most consistent teams in this year's IPL. Interestingly, whoever wins qualifier 2 will be the favorite to win the competition, because playing two playoffs will make them stronger heading to the final.
READ: I didn't ask for votes in BCB election: Nazmul
Despite having some quality players in the squad, Kolkata and Bangalore have failed to maintain consistency in this campaign and this could halt them to advance to the final. However, it will be a knockout game, and the competing teams will try their best to reach the final.
Bottom Line
According to the playoff schedule, the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings are the two hot favorites to advance to the IPL 2021 championship match. Meanwhile, if Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore can effectively execute their strategies on the field, they will have a chance. Both Kolkata and Bangalore teams can lose momentum at crucial stages of a game, which can put a halt to their progress. Fans of the Indian Premier League are anticipating an entertaining playoff round this year.
Read IPL 2021: Will Shakib Al Hasan Play in a crucial MI vs. KKR match?
Tigers trounce Oman A in warm-up match
Riding on the half-centuries of Mohammad Naim and Liton Das, and a tremendous innings of 49 off just 15 balls by Nurul Hasan Sohan, Bangladesh defeated Oman A in a warm-up match by 60 runs on Friday.
It was an unofficial practice match for the Tigers ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on October 17 in the Gulf state.
The hosts won the toss in Friday’s match and opted to bowl first. But they conceded 207 runs in 20 overs.
READ: T20 World Cup warm-up match: Bangladesh take on Oman A Friday
Naim and Liton amassed more than 100 runs in the opening stand. Naim was slow and steady, while Liton played power cricket as he scored 53 off just 33 deliveries with six fours and one six.
However, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim and Afif Hossain failed to impress with the bat. While Soumya and Afif scored 8 and 6 respectively, Mushfiqur suffered a golden duck.
Sohan came in at number six and quickly put up 49 runs off just 15 balls with seven big sixes. Shamim Hossain also did well, scoring 19 off 10. Naim was the highest scorer for Bangladesh, posting 63 off 53 with three hours and two sixes. Bangladesh totalled 207 for four wickets.
However, Oman tumbled for 147 for nine wickets in 20 overs. Left-handed Bangladeshi pacer Shoriful Islam bagged three wickets while Mohammad Saifuddin took two. Nasum Ahmed, Mahefi Hasan and Afif scalped one wicket each.
READ: Nazmul becomes BCB president for next four years
Bangladesh will play two official warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland on October 12 and 14, respectively, ahead of the World Cup in the UAE. In the first round of the World Cup, Bangladesh will take on Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea.
Premier League club Newcastle bought by Saudi sovereign fund
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund completed a buyout of Premier League club Newcastle on Thursday, giving hope to fans dreaming of a first title in almost a century but concerning human rights activists that the kingdom had gained a foothold in the world's richest soccer league.
Supporters descended on the club's St. James' Park stadium, some chanting "we are Saudis, we do what we want" and others singing "we've got our club back" amid the promise of long-desired investment.
The 300-million-pound ($409 million) takeover had been pursued since 2017 but stalled and then collapsed last year over concerns about how much control the Saudi state would have in the running of Newcastle amid scrutiny over piracy of sports broadcasts and human rights violations in the kingdom.
It led to a protracted legal fight that only ended this week when the Public Investment Fund offered assurances to the Premier League that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and in turn the state, would not have any say in the team.
PIF has bought 80% of the club — which is in the relegation zone after seven matches — with the wealthy British-based Reuben brothers and financier Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners owning the rest.
"The big change was the control issue," Staveley told The Associated Press. "We needed to demonstrate there was sufficient separation between PIF and the Saudi state, and that has been determined that there is."
But while the crown prince will not have a place on Newcastle's board of directors, he remains chairman of the PIF. The fund's governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be on the board at the northeast English club as non-executive chairman.
"The crown prince is chairman of a lot of entities in Saudi," said Staveley, who will also be on the club's board. "PIF is very much an autonomous, commercially driven investment fund, and it does not operate as part of the wider state. So there is that separation."
The Premier League's approval of the new owners and directors means 15 of its clubs are either owned or part-owned by overseas investors.
"All parties have agreed the settlement is necessary to end the long uncertainty for fans over the club's ownership," the league said in a statement. "The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club."
The takeover ends the 14-year ownership by British retail tycoon Mike Ashley, who has been widely viewed as a figure of scorn in the one-club city.
His ownership has been marked by chronic underinvestment in the playing squad, his use of Newcastle as a vehicle to promote his business interests, and of a general lack of ambition despite the club attracting regular home crowds of more than 50,000.
Newcastle has not won a major trophy since the 1955 FA Cup and its last league title was in 1927.
"Newcastle is like a magical, very beautiful, rough diamond," Staveley said in a telephone interview. "But it needs some nurturing and polishing. But it's a star."
With no wins and only three points from seven games, the poor start to the season means the future of manager Steve Bruce will be assessed before the next game next week — at home to Tottenham on Oct. 17 — after the international break.
The club will be seeking a transformation in the same manner enjoyed by Manchester City in 2008 after its takeover by another Middle Eastern entity — Abu Dhabi — that was also brokered by Staveley.
A key impediment to the Newcastle takeover was the pirating of sports broadcasts from Qatari-owned beIN — including of Premier League games — by an entity the World Trade Organization said was facilitated by the Saudi state. The Saudis declared beIN illegal in 2017 as they launched a wider economic and diplomatic boycott of Qatar alongside the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain over accusations Doha supports extremism. The tiny, super-rich nation of Qatar denied the charge and the boycott ended this year.
The Premier League was among the sports organizations that protested against the pirating of its games by the renegade beOutQ operation.
Saudi Arabia is expected to soon lift its ban on beIN, but Staveley said that wasn't what ended the impasse over the takeover.
"The piracy — those issues had been resolved," Staveley said. "This debate was just about control for us."
Newcastle was challenging the Premier League's decision not to approve the takeover at a Competition Appeals Tribunal whose latest hearing was last week.
But there was a lingering ethical dimension to whether PIF was approved as owners. Amnesty International wrote to league chief executive Richard Masters last year to say the takeover could be exploited by Saudi Arabia to cover up "deeply immoral" breaches of international law, citing human rights violations and the role of the crown prince.
Amnesty raised concerns with Masters about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after U.S. intelligence services said they believe the slaying came at the crown prince's orders. The kingdom has denied that.
"We can understand that this will be seen as a great day by many Newcastle United fans," Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said Thursday. "But it's also a very worrying day for anyone who cares about the ownership of English football clubs and whether these great clubs are being used to sportswash human rights abuse.
"In our assessment, this deal was always more about sportswashing than it was about football, with Saudi Arabia's aggressive move into sport as a vehicle for image-management and PR plain for all to see."
Responding to Amnesty's complaints, Staveley again tried to create a distinction between PIF and the Saudi leadership despite the funding being from the state fund.
"We understand the concerns," Staveley said. "And that is why my partner is PIF."
T20 World Cup warm-up match: Bangladesh take on Oman A Friday
Bangladesh national cricket team will take on hosts Oman A Friday night as part of their preparation for the T20 World Cup which is set to begin on October 17.
This practice match will be telecast live on T Sports – a private satellite channel based in Dhaka – at 8:30pm Bangladesh time.
Read: T20 World Cup: Bangladesh team reaches Oman
Also, the match will be broadcast live on the T Sports YouTube channel.
Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two warm-up matches in the UAE on October 12 and 14 against Sri Lanka and Ireland.
Read: Young Tigers eager to flourish in T20 World Cup
To play the matches, the Tigers will fly to the UAE from Oman on October 9, and they will return to Oman on October 15.
In the first round of the World Cup, Bangladesh will face Scotland, Oman and Papua New Guinea.