United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday announced a 16-member Bangladesh Under-17 Cricket team to tour Sri Lanka for playing two three-day and three one- day matches against their Lanka counterpart. Bangladesh team expected to leave here for the Island nation Sri Lanka on Thursday (November 21). Former national cricketer Tushar Imran was named as  the coach of Bangladesh U-17 team. Touring Bangladesh team will start their campaign through a one-day series taking on hosts Sri Lanka on November 24, 26 and 28. They will play the first three- day match from December 1-3 and the 2nd and last three dayer on December 6-8. Members of Bangladesh U-17 team: Ferdous Kabir, Abdullah Al Mohi, Hridoy Hossain, Farhan Sadik, Adrit Ghose, Ehsanul Haque Mahim, Rakibul Hasan, Rakib Khan, Mahinuzzaman Mahbir, Atiqur Rahman Akash, Al  Amin Hossain, Abdur Rahim, Mahir Islam Chowdhury, Imran Hossain, Al Rafi and Sourav Karmakar. Four stand by players are: Ehsanul Momin, Mobassir Islam Munim, Faiyas Rehman and Kawser Ahmed.  

Former Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes has officially announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday, with this last First-class match. Alongside his Test career, Imrul also declared the conclusion of his First-class cricket journey, bringing an emotional close to a 17-year professional career. A few days back, Imrul made his announcement via social media. “I am about to make a difficult decision regarding my career. On November 16, I will officially end my Test and First-class cricket career. This is one of the most challenging and emotional moments in my life,” he said.  Looking back to his journey, Imrul, who played 39 Tests and scored three centuries and four fifties, expressed his gratitude and pride. “When I made my First-class debut in 2006, I never imagined I would play 39 Test matches for Bangladesh. Representing my country, whether in one Test or fifty, is an immense honor,” he added. “I’ve tried my best to contribute to the team, either with the bat or as a keeper.” Imrul’s Test career featured several milestones, including a record-breaking 312-run opening partnership with Tamim Iqbal in the Khulna Test against Pakistan in 2015.  “That innings of 150 will always remain a special memory for me,” he said. While he is proud of his contributions, Imrul mentioned some unfulfilled aspirations, especially the absence of a major trophy. “It’s a regret that despite playing with legends like Shakib (Al Hasan), Tamim, Mashrafe (bin Mortaza), Mushfiqur (Rahim), and (Mahmudullah) Riyad bhai for so long, we couldn’t win a significant trophy for Bangladesh. Winning something like the Asia Cup or Nidahas Trophy would have made my career more fulfilling,” he said.  “The celebrations after that win were unforgettable. The love and support we received from the fans that night still gives me goosebumps. It showed how deeply cricket is loved in our country,” Imrul added.

England sealed a 3-1 win Sunday in its Twenty20 series against West Indies when the fifth and final match was abandoned after five overs because of rain. West Indies reached 44-0 at the end of the fifth over after losing the toss when torrential rain began to fall. Evin Lewis was 29 not out and Shai Hope on 14. With no hope of the rain abating and the outfield already soaked, the umpires made the decision to call off play about 6:15 p.m. local time with no result. England won the first three matches of the series by eight wickets, seven wickets and three wickets respectively. West Indies won the fourth match on Saturday by five wickets in a record run chase. The home team previously won the one-day international series 2-1. All seven completed matches were won by the team that won the toss and batted second.

Shai Hope and Evin Lewis made half centuries in a rapid 136-run opening stand as the West Indies completed a record run chase to beat England by five wickets Saturday in the fourth Twenty20 international. Hope made 54 from 24 balls and Lewis made 68 from 31 balls, with seven sixes and four fours, in a partnership which lasted only 9.1 overs but enabled the West Indies to reach a winning target of 219. The West Indies' confident start was shaken when Lewis, Hope and Nicholas Pooran fell to consecutive balls in the 10th over. But captain Roston Chase put the innings back on track with 38 from 23 balls and Sherfane Rutherford competed the chase with successive sixes and an over to spare. There were 32 sixes in the match, 16 from each team. “We had to assess the conditions. That's one thing we struggled with in the first three games in the power play," Hope said. “We've been losing some early wickets so the main thing was to try and understand what was the best remedy, to understand the conditions and come out of the power play on top.” England already had won the five-match series after winning the first three matches by eight wickets, seven wickets and three wickets respectively. Every match in the series and in the previous three-match one-day series has been won by the team winning the toss. After being sent in, Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell who both have deep roots in the Caribbean made swift half centuries as England made 218-5 to equal the highest first innings total at the Darren Sammy Stadium. Bethell who was born and raised in Barbados made an unbeaten 62 from 32 balls while Salt who was born in Wales but raised in Barbados made 55 from 35 balls at the top of the order. Will Jacks (25), Jos Buttler (38) and Sam Curran (24) also contributed to England's innings of 218-5. The West Indies made a speedy start in pursuit of that total. Hope reached his half century from 23 balls, the West Indies were 69-0 after the power play and their hundred came up in only 7.3 overs. Lewis was more watchful than Hope at first but when he began to hit out it was with enormous power. He reached his half century from 26 balls and the longest of his sixes traveled 105 meters. The century partnership between Hope and Lewis came from only 45 balls and they had looked impregnable until Lewis played an awkward shot to a ball from Rehan Ahmed which he skewed to Dan Mousley. Hope was run out next ball for the second time in consecutive matches and Pooran was bowled first ball as the West Indies slumped to 136-3. Powell restored some of the early momentum with his 38 before falling lbw to John Turner in his T20 debut. The West Indies needed 21 from the the last three overs with five wickets in hand, then 15 from two. After edging towards the target in singles, Rutherford finally found the middle and blasted consecutive sixes from Mousely to clinch the win.

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) team, Rangpur Riders, is all set to participate in the Global Super League, an international T20 league, in Guyana. This is the first time a Bangladeshi franchise is going to participate in such a league. Nurul Hasan Sohan, the wicketkeeper-batter, will lead the Riders in this league. He said it’s a great opportunity for them to represent the country in this T20 event. “This is a big opportunity for our players to gain global exposure and enhance their skills,” Sohan said in a press conference in Dhaka, where the team also unveiled their jersey. Drawing from his experience in Guyana during Bangladesh's 2022 West Indies tour, Sohan believes the conditions are similar to those back home, offering a slight advantage. A total of five teams will play in this event. The other teams are the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Pakistan's Lahore Qalandars, England's Hampshire Hawks, and Australia's Victoria. The Riders' squad includes notable Bangladeshi players such as Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, and Sheikh Mehedi Hasan, alongside international stars like Pakistan's Khushdil Shah and England's Wayne Madsen. Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), called it a “new milestone” for a Bangladeshi team. “Rangpur is not just representing themselves but also BCB and Bangladesh,” he said on Saturday, expressing hope for the success of the Riders.

Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood again knocked the top off the West Indies innings to set up England's three-wicket win in the third Twenty20 international on Thursday which clinched a series victory with two matches remaining. Set 146, England reached its target with seven wickets down and four balls to spare. The chase was led by Sam Curran who made 41 in partnerships of 38 with Will Jacks (32) and 39 with Liam Livingstone. Livingstone was dropped on 6, 8 and 21 but went on to reach a valuable 39. With each dropped catch, the match slipped from the home team's grasp. Jamie Overton (4) and Rehan Ahmed (5) were at the crease when the winning runs came in the final over. Player of the match Mahmood took 3-17, dismissing Evin Lewis (3) in the first over of the match and returning to dismiss Roston Chase (7) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) as the West Indies slumped to 39-5 at the end of the six-over power play. “I just feel freer (in this series) to be honest,” Mahmood said. “I think when I've played in the past I've always kept someone else's place warm whereas coming into this if feels like my own and I can really express myself and always look to take the brave option.” Captain Rovman Powell made 54 as the West Indies recovered to 145-8 after the failure of the top order. The West Indies lost three wickets in the power play in each of the first two matches of the series which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets respectively. Mahmood took 4-24 including the power play wickets of Lewis, Brandon King and Hetmyer in the first match and 2-20 in the second. England received a major boost before the match when captain Jos Buttler won the toss which was delayed for 45 minutes by a wet outfield. The first two matches of the series and the three matches of the previous one-day international series between the teams all were won by the team that won the toss. The West Indies paid heavily for indiscipline at the start of their innings — in spite of a deteriorating position its top batters continued to play recklessly. Shai hope was run out on the fourth ball of the innings by Jacob Bethell who threw down his stumps as Hope first set off for a hopeless run, then failed to regain his ground. Lewis was out five balls later, slashing at a length ball from Mahmood which flew to Jofra Archer at third man. And Nicholas Pooran fell to the fifth ball of the third over, bowled by Archer as he threw up his head and swung across the line at a straight delivery. The West Indies were 17-3 after three overs. Powell and Romario Shepherd put on 73 for the sixth wicket and Alzarri Joseph, returning after a suspension for his extraordinary protest in the first match of the series, made an unbeaten 21. Joseph walked off the field in the first match after disputing his captain's field settings. The fourth and fifth matches of the series will be played at St. Lucia on Saturday and Sunday.

Glenn Maxwell's robust 43 off 19 balls helped Australia thump Pakistan by 29 runs in a rain-shortened first Twenty20 on Thursday. After a nearly three-hour delay due to lightning and rain, the match was shortened to seven overs per side. Maxwell powered Australia to 93-4 and Pakistan reached only 64-9 after slumping to 16-5 inside the first 15 balls. Nathan Ellis (3-9) and Xavier Bartlett (3-13) ran through the top order before No. 8 batter Abbas Afridi’s unbeaten 20. “Certainly had a lot of fun out there,” Maxwell said. “We thought we had enough on the board … the bowlers did a great job. There was a few of us who had packed our bags expecting the game to be called off, so it was a mad rush to get ready.” Maxwell followed scores of 0, 16, 0 in the preceding one-day international series won by Pakistan 2-1 by smacking three sixes and five boundaries. He played some extravagant lap shots to third man against the pace of Haris Rauf (1-21) and Naseem Shah (1-37). Maxwell fell in the penultimate over when he hooked Abbas Afridi (2-9) to backward square leg but Marcus Stoinis provided a final flourish with an unbeaten 21 off seven balls. Stoinis smashed 20 runs in Shah’s last over with two fours and six. None of the top six Pakistan batters reached double figures. Sahibzada Farhan hit Spencer Johnson for two successive boundaries off the first two balls he faced before mistiming a pull shot off the fourth ball and holing out at midwicket. Mohammad Rizwan, in his first match as the Pakistan skipper, fell to the first ball when he top-edged Bartlett to point. Usman Khan was caught at third man in the same over. Ellis struck twice in his first over when Babar Azam was caught in the deep and Jake Fraser-McGurk snapped his third catch as Irfan Khan also offered a tame catch at deep midwicket. Pakistan was 24-6 in the fourth over when Salman Ali Agha scored only 4 in his debut T20, guiding a sharp, short Bartlett delivery to Australia first-time captain Josh Inglis on the run. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa clean-bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah off successive balls in the last over to complete the rout. “It was difficult to keep things normal in a seven-over game,” Rizwan said. “Got to give credit to Maxy, his style worked really well.” The second T20 is in Sydney on Saturday, and the last in Hobart on Monday.

Former Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes said he is set to wave goodbye to Test cricket this month, as well as his First-class career. The batter announced it on a social media post on Wednesday.  Imrul started playing Test cricket in 2008 and appeared in 39 matches. His last Test appearance was in 2019.  “I am about to make a difficult decision regarding my career,” Imrul said in a video posted on social media.  “I am announcing the end of my Test career on November 16th, and with that, I am also going to announce the end of my First-class cricket career. This is one of the most difficult and emotional moments in my 17-year journey,” he added.  In his 39-match Test career, Imrul hit three centuries and four fifties.  In his 137-match First-class career, the left-handed batter hit 20 centuries and 27 fifties.  Since his last appearance in Test in 2019, Imrul on several occasions said, he wants to play Test cricket, but the 37-year-old batter never called back to the Bangladesh team again.  One of the most notable achievements of Imrul’s career was a 312-run partnership with Tamim Iqbal, which is the world record for the highest-run stand in the first wicket partnership in a third or fourth innings of a Test match.  It was notched up in the Khulna Test against Pakistan in 2015. Imrul hit 150 in that partnership, which remains as his best knock in Test cricket. 

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat in the first one-day international against a new-look New Zealand team on Wednesday. The series will provide New Zealand with a build up for next year’s Champions Trophy for which Sri Lanka hasn’t qualified after it finished ninth in last year’s World Cup in India. While New Zealand will be playing its first ODI since December of last year, Sri Lanka has fared well in the 50-over format, winning 10 of its 15 ODIs in 2024. All-rounder Nathan Smith, opening batter Tim Robinson and wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay made ODI debuts for New Zealand. Canterbury wicketkeeper-batter Hay became the first wicketkeeper in T20s to feature in six dismissals behind the stumps as New Zealand drew the series 1-1 and successfully defended a low score of 108 at the same venue last week. Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the series after he sustained a calf injury during the second T20 soon after grabbing a hat-trick. Sri Lanka will also miss its star leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who has been sidelined for the three ODIs due to hamstring injury. Pallekele will host the remaining two ODIs on Sunday and next Tuesday.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced Tuesday that Shahadat Hossain Dipu will replace Najmul Hossain Shanto in the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. Shanto, the regular captain, has been ruled out of the squad after sustaining a groin strain, impacting both the team’s leadership and batting lineup. Shahadat, a 22-year-old right-hander from Chattogram Division, was called up by the BCB’s National Selection Panel to fill Shanto’s spot. Shahadat’s performances in domestic cricket have drawn attention, making this series a significant opportunity to prove himself in the international arena. Bangladesh will play two ICC World Test Championship matches against the West Indies, starting on November 22 in Antigua, followed by the second Test on November 30 in Jamaica. With Shanto sidelined, the squad will look to vice captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz to take on the leadership role. Bangladesh Test Squad: Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Litton Das (Wicketkeeper), Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad.