United News of Bangladesh

England allrounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from international cricket after being overlooked for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia. The 37-year-old Ali said in an interview with British newspaper The Daily Mail that it was “time for the next generation.” “It felt the time was right. I’ve done my part,” Ali said. Ali played 68 tests, 138 one-day internationals and 92 Twenty20 internationals for England, winning the World Cup in both the shorter forms. He said he still feels like he can compete at the highest level, but was “trying to be realistic” about his international future. “I could hold on and try to play for England again, but I know in reality I won’t,” Ali told the Mail. Matthew Mott was fired as head coach of England's limited-overs teams last month after disappointing title defenses in the ODI and T20 World Cups and the appetite for change continued with the removal from the squad of Ali and Jonny Bairstow — two senior players sharing over 400 caps. Moeen had been an influential vice-captain to Jos Buttler in recent years. England host Australia in an eight-game white-ball tour beginning on Wednesday with a T20 in Southampton.

Touring Bangladesh to play hosts Bhutan in the 2nd and last match of the two match FIFA International Friendly Series on Sunday (Sept 8) in a hope to win the series 2-0. The match will kick-off at 6 pm local time at the Changlimithang Stadium in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu. Bangladesh took the lead in the two-match series 1-0 beating Himalayan nation Bhutan by 1-0 goal in the first match last Thursday, featuring a goal by Sheikh Morsalin in the 6th minute. This was the 12th win for FIFA ranked 184th Bangladesh against FIFA ranked 182nd Bhutan in their 15 international meetings. Bangladesh drew two matches and lost one against Bhutan by 1-3 goals in a pre-qualifier match of the Asian Cup held in Thimphu in October, 2016 and were deprived of playing FIFA and AFC matches for the next 17 months. Ahead of the Sunday's vital match, Bangladesh team made their final practice session at the match venue--Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu--on Saturday from 4:30 pm to 6 pm. During the day' s training session, Assistant Coach of Bangladesh team Hasan Al Mamun said, "We have an good idea about Bhutanese team after playing one match, and accordingly we worked on our strategy against them, I think our team will play a better match tomorrow to win the match overcoming previous lapses." "Basically We came here to improve our FIFA ranking playing with the same standard teams and we prepared ourselves to achieve our target," he added. Bangladeshi premier striker Rakib Hossain will miss Sunday's match due to injury.

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain has secured a spot in the Zim Afro T10 after being signed by the Harare Bolts. Just last week, Rishad was also picked up by the Hobart Hurricanes for the Big Bash League (BBL), making him only the second Bangladeshi, after Shakib Al Hasan, to join a BBL team. Last year, Mushfiqur Rahim and Taskin Ahmed participated in the Zim Afro T10 as well. Rishad was Bangladesh’s standout bowler during the last T20 World Cup, held in the USA and the West Indies. The legspinner took 14 wickets in his debut World Cup, earning praise from cricket legends for his exceptional performance.

Without injured Lionel Messi and the retired Ángel Di María, Argentina eased past Chile 3-0 on Thursday to remain on top of the South American 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the 48, Julián Álvarez added a goal in the 84th and Paulo Dybala capped the scoring in the 90th for the Argentinians, who have 18 points after the first seven rounds. The top six teams in the South American standings will qualify for the World Cup which will be played in the United States, México and Canada in 2026, The team that finishes seventh will advance to a playoff against another confederation. After winning the Copa America in the United States, Argentina overcame the absence of the 37-year-old Messi, who suffered a right ankle injury in the final against Colombia. His future playing status remains uncertain. Di María, who has retired from the national team, was honored by fans and his teammates before the match was played at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. The 37-year-old Di María played his last match with Argentina in the 1-0 win over Colombia in the Copa America final. He was a national team member for Argentina for 16 years. The team later paraded its Copa America trophy around the ground. Earlier, Bolivia took advantage of a higher altitude at its new host city and defeated Venezuela 4-0 to record its second win in four matches at home. Ramiro Vaca opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Carmelo Algarañaz converted a penalty kick in the 45th, Miguel Terceros in the 46th and Enzo Monteiro scored in the 89th. The Bolivians used to play in the capital La Paz at 3,640 meters (11,940 feet) above sea level, but the South American soccer body CONMEBOL allowed them to move their games to El Alto, the second largest city in the country at an altitude of 4,150 meters (13,615 feet).

Promising striker Sheikh Morsalin helps Bangladesh to beat hosts Bhutan by 1-0 goal in the first match of the two-match FIFA International Friendlies Series at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu Thursday evening. With the day's feat, FiFA international ranked 184th Bangladesh took 1-0 lead against their superior and FIFA ranked 182nd Bhutan in the two-match FIFA International series. The 2nd and last FIFA International Friendly match between two teams will be held on Sunday ( Sept 8) at the same time and same venue. In the day's match, promising striker Sheikh Morsalin put Bangladesh ahead in the very 6th minute by a cool push from handshake distance when a right wing cross of Rakib Hossain came his way slipping from the grip of Bhutanese custodian (1-0). Morsalin also has the experience of scoring goal against Bhutan. After the match, Sheikh Morsalin said, "we played a very good match (today) to win the game following  the instruction of our head coach.".  "I am very happy to score the goal, assist by Rakib Bhai, we overcame the first match successfully and looking forward also to play good football in the next match" he added. Bangladesh captain cum midfielder Jamal Bhuyan was not included in the day's best eleven and  defender Topu Barman given the captaincy in the the day's match. Bangladeshi famed forward Rakib Hossain left the field with injury and Shahriar Emon replaced him in the match. Bangladesh team, which reached the Bhutanese capital last Friday,  started their preparations in Thimphu with first-ever mountain hiking near Buddha point in Thimphu Saturday morning. They made their gym session at the team hotel Sunday morning,  first on field practice session at the artificial turf of the  Changjiji Stadium Sunday afternoon and prepared themselves at the match venue-- Changlimithang Stadium on Monday afternoon. Bangladesh team also made their  practice sessions at match venue--- Changlimithang Stadium-- in Thimphu on Monday and Tuesday. Bangladesh team first eleven : Mitul Marma, Topu Barman, Shakil Hossain, Bishwanath Ghosh, Saaduddin, Sohel Rana, Md Sohel Rana, Mohammad Hridoy, Faysal Ahmed Fahim, Sheikh Morsalin (Mojibur Rahman Jony) and Rakib Hossain (Shahriar Emon)

The Bangladesh National Football team will play hosts Bhutan in the first match of the two-match FIFA International Friendlies Series on Thursday (Sept 5). The match will kick-off at 6:00 pm local time at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu. The second and last FIFA International Friendly match between two teams will be held on Sunday (September 8) at the same time and same venue. Ahead of Thursday's match, the touring Bangladesh Football team is passing busy time in Thimphu on Wednesday. After addressing the pre-match official press conference at the Changlimithang Stadium premises Wednesday afternoon, the Bangladesh team made their final practice session at the same stadium Wednesday evening from 6 pm. Addressing the pre-match press conference, the Spanish head coach of Bangladesh, Javier Cabrera, said, "We are comfortable here with local facilities and good hospitality, although we have some challenges, we came here to win " Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan said, "We have good practices here, we are ready to face Bhutan and expecting two tough and good matches (with Bhutan).". The head coach of Bhutanese team Autsushi Nakamura and Bhutanese captain Nima Wangdi also spoke on the occasion. The Bangladesh team, which reached the Bhutanese capital Friday afternoon, started their preparations in Thimphu with first-ever mountain hiking for about two hours near Buddha point in Thimphu Saturday morning. They made their gym session at the team hotel Sunday morning, their first on field practice session at the artificial turf of Changjiji Stadium Sunday afternoon, and prepared themselves at the match venue, Changlimithang Stadium, on Monday afternoon.   The Bangladesh team also made their second consecutive practice session at the match venue, Changlimithang Stadium, in Thimphu on Tuesday afternoon. Footballers of Bangladesh team: goalkeepers: Mitul Marma, Shujon Hossain, and Pappu Hossain Defender: Topu Barman, Bishwanath Ghosh, Md Saaduddin, Mehdi Hasan, Rahmat Mia, and Isha Faysal Shakil Hossain and Shakil Ahad Topu. Midfielder : Sohel Rana, Mohammad Hridoy, Jamal Bhuyan, Md Sohel Rana, Mirajul Islam, Chandan Roy and Mojibur Rahman Rony Forward: Rakib Hossain, Shekh Morsalin, Faysal Ahmed Fahim, Shahiar Emon, and Rabby Hossain Rahul.

Pakistan’s embarrassing test series whitewash against Bangladesh has been heavily criticized at home, with former captain Ramiz Raja calling for an explanation from red-ball captain Shan Masood and senior players. “Pakistan cricket sunk in Bay of Bengal,” read a headline in leading Urdu language newspaper Daily Jang on Wednesday. Bangladesh jumped three places to No. 4 in the ICC World Test Championship with back-to-back victories against Pakistan, which is lying at No. 8 just above last-placed West Indies. Masood blamed lack of fitness and long gaps between test matches among the reasons for the debacle against Bangladesh as he suffered a second successive whitewash after losing 3-0 to Australia earlier this year. “It’s the job of the leader to fight,” Raja said on his Youtube channel Ramiz Speaks. “Agreed he (Masood) is a young captain, agreed the bowling attack was young, but he had picked up this bowling attack.” Bangladesh quashed all of Pakistan's plans during its historic achievement in test cricket as Pakistan faced a 10-wicket defeat in the first test after it opted to go with four fast bowlers – including new-ball pair of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Pakistan’s ploy to rest both Afridi and Naseem for the second test and try their three premier domestic pace bowlers — Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali — also couldn’t turn the result as Bangladesh romped to a six-wicket win on Tuesday to seal the epic series win. Khurram and Hamza had floored Bangladesh to 26-6 in the first innings but Litton Das’ 138 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 78 led an improbable fightback. “It’s a first class bowling attack not a test cricket bowling attack,” Raja said. There are question marks on Masood’s own batting form as the left-hander scored only one half century against Bangladesh while his last test century came against England in 2020. “He has to answer about his own performance,” Raja said. “He is not scoring and the way Bangladesh squeezed, somebody has to be called for explanation, senior players needs to explain.” There has been a sharp decline in Pakistan’s performances this year — both in red-ball and white-ball cricket. The introduction of foreign coaches has made no impact with Pakistan losing to co-host United States and India at the T20 World Cup to make an early exit under head coach Gary Kirsten of South Africa. Jason Gillespie took over as head coach of red-ball cricket, but the former Australian fast bowler failed in his first assignment against Bangladesh. “I fail to understand why we always bring in foreign coaches,” said another former captain Rashid Latif. Raja said Pakistan cricket fans have started to lose interest in their team. “Lots of fans are disheartened,” he said. “Why do someone watch Pakistan’s test cricket, because when you surf television channels and watch quality and classy cricket elsewhere, why should someone stop and watch how low can they (Pakistan cricketers) go.” Pakistan's top-order batters have long been struggling — especially Babar Azam, who hasn’t scored a half century in his last 16 innings. Left-hander Saud Shakeel had a promising start, but let the team down against Bangladesh. Opener Abdullah Shafique could score only 43 in four innings against Bangladesh and added to Pakistan batting woes. “Only (Mohammad) Rizwan fights,” Raja said. “The overall (cricket) structure is shaken and when the foundation is shaken, sponsors are shaken, fans are shaken and expectations are dead.” Pakistan has little time to recover, with England lined up for a three-test series next month in Pakistan. “They (players) have to take onus,” Raja said. “This is the season to make a name. You have to get yourself up mentally and there are no excuses. … When there’s no blame game, only then you can go upward.”

After a successful two-Test series against Pakistan, the Bangladesh cricket team is set to return home tonight, though star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan will be heading to the USA instead. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said that the team will return to Dhaka in two batches. The first group is expected to land around 11 pm tonight, with the second group arriving in the early hours of August 5. Sources close to Shakib confirmed that he will travel to the USA to reunite with his family. He will rejoin the team in India if called upon. Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan was a historic success, marked by their first-ever Test victory against Pakistan and a series win. Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and the pacer duo Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana delivered outstanding performances, writing a new chapter in Bangladesh cricket. This series win is widely regarded as one of Bangladesh's most dominant Test performances to date.

Bangladesh's new generation pace duo, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana, impressed with their bowling in the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan, where they led from the front and proved their inclusion made a significant difference. Bangladesh has traditionally been a team more reliant on its spin bowling. However, over the last couple of years, the pacers have also started to step up and play leading roles. In Pakistan's second innings of the second Rawalpindi Test, Bangladesh's pacers took all ten wickets—a first in Bangladesh's cricketing history, clearly indicating the pacers' capabilities. Both Hasan and Nahid registered career-best bowling figures during the series. Hasan recorded his maiden five-wicket haul, while Nahid took four wickets, including three in a five-over spell that changed the game's course on the fourth morning. Their performance signals that the new generation of pace bowlers can shape the future of Bangladesh cricket. However, it's crucial to ensure an environment for Hasan, Nahid, and others like them that will help them maintain their fitness and keep them fresh for consistent performance. Bangladesh has a history of overusing pacers, which eventually made them incapable of playing all formats or prone to injuries. Along with the new pacers, experienced campaigners like Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have also started delivering at crucial moments, as Mushfiqur Rahim has done for a long time. All these three played the most important role behind their recent Test series win over Pakistan in Rawalpinidi. Mushfiqur’s 191, Litton’s century, and all-rounder performance of Mehidy in this series will be remembered for long. All these together, Bangladesh cricket is on the verge of a new beginning. There was always a doubt that if players like Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, and Mushfiqur Rahim retired, Bangladesh would face a vacuum, and that transition period might make their cricket vulnerable to regression. With Mashrafe, Tamim, and Mahmudullah already out or nearly out of the picture, and Shakib and Mushfiqur also nearing the end of their careers, Bangladesh is catching glimpses of a new era. The credit for this change essentially goes to Hasan and Nahid's imperious bowling display in the Pakistan series.

Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has donated his prize money from his Player of the Series award in the second Rawalpindi Test to the family of a rickshaw puller who died during the recent protests that led to the toppling of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. Mehidy played a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s maiden Test series win over Pakistan, scoring a crucial fifty after the team had lost six wickets for just 26 runs in the first innings. His 165-run partnership with Litton Das at a critical juncture not only saved the innings but also set a new world record for the highest seventh-wicket stand in a Test match after losing six wickets for under 50 runs. Besides his batting heroics, Mehidy also took five wickets in Pakistan’s first innings on a pitch that offered little assistance to spinners. This all-around performance earned Mehidy the Player of the Series award—his first on an overseas tour. “Alhamdulillah, this is the first time I have won the Player of the Series award on an overseas tour,” Mehidy said. “You all know there’s been trouble recently in our country. I want to dedicate this award to the people who passed away during the anti-discrimination protests. One rickshaw puller was injured and later passed away. This is my gift to them.” The protests Mehidy referred to were initially led by students and began as a movement against the job reservation system in Bangladesh. They quickly evolved into widespread demonstrations against Sheikh Hasina’s increasingly autocratic rule. According to unofficial reports, around 900 people were killed during the protests and the ensuing unrest.