United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka, Feb 28 (UNB) — Pakistan secured a dramatic five-run victory over Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight match tonight, but the win offered little solace as they were officially knocked out of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The result simultaneously confirmed New Zealand’s progression to the semi-finals from Group 2. Heading into the clash, tournament hosts Sri Lanka had already been eliminated from the semi-final race. Pakistan, however, clung to a mathematical lifeline: they needed to defeat Sri Lanka by an enormous margin of at least 64 runs to surpass New Zealand’s superior Net Run Rate. Taking a bold approach by dropping stalwarts like Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, Pakistan set a daunting target, posting 212 for 8. The innings was anchored by a blistering, record-breaking century from Player of the Match Sahibzada Farhan (100 off 60 balls) and a mammoth 176-run opening partnership with Fakhar Zaman. To keep their semi-final dreams alive, Pakistan’s bowlers needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or fewer. Despite early breakthroughs by Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah, Pakistan’s hopes were decisively crushed in the 15th over. Sri Lankan batters Pavan Rathnayake (58) and Dasun Shanaka launched a fierce counter-attack, pushing their team past the 148-run threshold and officially ending Pakistan's World Cup campaign. Having played spoilers, Sri Lanka then took aim at the actual target of 213, turning the match into a nail-biter. Needing 28 off the final over bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shanaka smashed three consecutive sixes to bring the equation down to just 6 runs from 2 balls. However, Afridi held his nerve with two crucial dot balls, leaving Sri Lanka stranded at 207 for 6. Ultimately, Pakistan's desperate final push and record-breaking batting were not enough to undo their earlier tournament struggles, leaving both them and Sri Lanka watching from the sidelines as New Zealand advances to the final four.  

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim has been left stranded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, along with thousands of other passengers, following widespread flight cancellations sparked by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Returning from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, Rahim was scheduled to fly back to Dhaka via Dubai. However, his Emirates flight was forced to turn back mid-journey due to severe airspace security risks. Sharing the ordeal on his verified Facebook page today, Rahim detailed the sudden disruption to his travel plans. “Assalamu Alaikum. I came to Makkah a few days ago to perform Umrah,” Rahim wrote. “Alhamdulillah, after completing it, I was scheduled to return to Bangladesh today via Emirates. We took off from Jeddah for Dubai on flight EK0806 this morning. But unfortunately, due to the war involving the US, Israel, and Iran, all flights have returned to Jeddah,” he added. The cricketer expressed deep uncertainty about his return, noting that he is currently waiting at the Jeddah airport alongside thousands of fellow Bangladeshis and international travelers. “Only Almighty Allah knows when and how we will be able to return to Dhaka with the other Bangladeshis. I request everyone's prayers,” he added. The massive aviation disruption stems from the recent Israeli strikes on Iran, which have triggered a region-wide security crisis. In response to the growing threat and the possibility of retaliatory missile strikes, major international carriers, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, have either rerouted or temporarily suspended all flights to Middle Eastern destinations.    

Pakistan's turbulent run in the ongoing T20 World Cup has sparked severe backlash from fans, resulting in personal attacks against captain Salman Agha and his family. Following a critical Super Eight defeat to England, disgruntled supporters directed abusive language at Agha's relatives, prompting the captain's wife to protest on Instagram, reminding fans that hurling insults will not bring the World Cup home. Left-arm pacer Salman Mirza strongly condemned the harassment, stepping up to defend his captain ahead of their crucial match against Sri Lanka. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mirza labeled the behavior "shameful," emphasizing that every player steps onto the field with the intention to perform. He firmly stated that an off day on the pitch never justifies targeting a cricketer's family. Despite the off-field toxicity, Pakistan's semi-final aspirations remain mathematically alive, kept breathing by England's victory over New Zealand in Group 2. However, the qualification equation is incredibly steep. To secure a spot in the semi-finals, Pakistan must defeat Sri Lanka tonight by a margin of at least 64 runs or chase down their target within 13.1 overs. The match is scheduled for 7:30 PM Bangladesh time at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.

England kept its unbeaten Super Eights run intact with a tense four-wicket victory over New Zealand on Friday, a result that hands Pakistan a slim remaining chance of reaching the T20 World Cup semifinals. New Zealand appeared on course to seal a semifinal berth after reducing England to 117-6 in the 17th over while defending 159. But a late onslaught from Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed swung the match, guiding England home with three balls to spare. Black Caps captain Mitchell Santner admitted a win would have simplified their path but praised England’s finish, highlighting the decisive hitting from Jacks and Ahmed. Despite the loss, New Zealand remains favored to advance from the Super Eights. Pakistan, however, still has a mathematical chance and must defeat Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Saturday by 64 runs or chase down the target within 13.1 overs to qualify. England had already secured a semifinal spot but risked spoiling its perfect Super Eights record during a shaky chase. Phil Salt fell in the opening over, and Jos Buttler departed for a two-ball duck in the second. Buttler’s lean tournament continued, with just 62 runs in seven matches, and his 10th career duck set an unwanted England T20 record. Captain Harry Brook defended Buttler, calling him one of the finest white-ball players in the game and backing him to rebound. Brook and Jacob Bethell were dismissed within nine overs, while Tom Banton and Sam Curran added a cautious 42 off 35 deliveries. England still required 43 from the final 19 balls on a worn, turning surface. Ahmed, brought in for Jamie Overton to bolster spin options, impressed with 2-28 and made a crucial impact with the bat. He launched his second delivery for six as he and Jacks hammered 22 runs in the 18th over off Glenn Phillips, then added another 16 in the 19th against Santner to seize control. Jacks remained unbeaten on 32, striking a six and four boundaries, while Ahmed smashed 19 from just seven balls, including two sixes. Jacks, collecting his fourth player-of-the-match award of the tournament, credited Ahmed’s fearless hitting for shifting momentum. Earlier, New Zealand opted to bat and posted 159-7. Tim Seifert and Finn Allen put on 64 in seven overs, but regular wickets slowed progress. Phillips led the scoring with 39, and the Black Caps managed only 24 runs across the final three overs. England’s spinners — Jacks, Adil Rashid and Ahmed — claimed two wickets apiece.  

India posted the second-highest total in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup as its batters gave home fans a show of sixes in a 72-run win over Zimbabwe in the Super Eights on Thursday. South Africa beat West Indies by nine wickets to advance to the semifinals. Hardik Pandya scored 50 not out off 23 balls, Tilak Varma smashed 44 not out off only 16 deliveries and Abhishek Sharma found form with a 30-ball 55 in defending champion India's 256-4 in 20 overs — second only to Sri Lanka's 260-6 against Kenya at the 2007 edition. Zimbabwe reached 184-6 in its 20 overs with opener Brian Bennett ending on 97 not out with six sixes in his 59-ball innings. India hit 17 sixes in all – its highest in a T20 World Cup innings — after Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bowl. India's win secured a place in the semifinals for South Africa after its dominant win over West Indies earlier Thursday in Ahmedabad, India. A whirlwind 95-run opening partnership between captain Aiden Markram (82 not out) and Quinton de Kock (47) in eight overs made short work of South Africa's chase. Ryan Rickelton added 45 not out and South Africa motored to 177-1 in 16.1 overs and stretched its unbeaten record in the tournament to six games, four of the wins in Ahmedabad. West Indies put up 176-8 from 83-7. Pacers Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder batted their side to respectability. Shepherd (52 not out) and Holder (49) lifted West Indies with a remarkable 89-run stand for the eighth wicket. Shepherd notched his maiden T20 half-century. Holder and Shepherd pushed the accelerator in the death overs. Holder smashed Marco Jansen for 23 runs in the 18th over before he was run out in the final over. Shepherd completed his half-century with an inside edge off the final ball of the innings but South Africa kept the score under-par by about 50 runs. The Proteas play Zimbabwe in their last Super Eights game on Sunday in Delhi, when West Indies, which had been unbeaten at this edition, faces co-host India in Kolkata. The winner in Kolkata will advance with South Africa to the semifinals from Group 1. India lights up Chennai sky Sanju Samson made 24 off 15 balls to give Sharma some respite at the top. Sharma, the No. 1 ranked T20 batter, then regained his touch with four sixes on his way to a 26-ball 50 – his first in five games this tournament. Sharma and Ishan Kishan (38) put on 72 off 42 balls. Suryakumar Yadav – dropped on eight – scored 33 off 13 balls. Pandya and Varma lit up the night sky with eight sixes shared between them. India's previous highest-ever men’s T20 World Cup score was 218-4 versus England in 2007. Zimbabwe made 44 in the powerplay but was 73-2 at the halfway mark. The innings lost momentum when Arshdeep Singh (3-24) struck twice – Sikandar Raza was caught for 31, while Ryan Burl was lbw for a two-ball duck. South Africa’s confident chase Markram smashed seven boundaries and four sixes in his 82 not out off 46 balls. De Kock hit four sixes and four boundaries in a 24-ball 47. Rickelton maintained the express scoring with 45 not out off 28 balls as South Africa won with 3.5 overs to spare. Earlier, in a frenetic powerplay, West Indies was down to 52-4. South Africa also dropped three catches in the first six overs. Kagiso Rabada took 2-22 in four overs and Lungi Ngidi had 3-30, also in four overs.

Co-host Sri Lanka were knocked out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Wednesday after suffering a 61-run loss to New Zealand. A counterattacking seventh-wicket stand of 80 runs between captain Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie rescued New Zealand from a difficult position and set up the decisive victory. After Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl, New Zealand were in trouble at 84 for 6 and still only 90 for 6 after 15 overs. Santner then struck 47 off 26 balls, while McConchie made 31 from 23 deliveries, lifting New Zealand to a competitive 168 for 7. The momentum shifted rapidly during the death overs, with McConchie taking 18 runs off the 17th over from Dushmantha Chameera, followed by 21 runs conceded by spinner Maheesh Theekshana in the 18th. The pair added their 80 runs in just 43 balls before Santner was dismissed off the final delivery. Chameera and Theekshana finished with three wickets apiece. In reply, Sri Lanka never recovered from an early collapse and were restricted to 107 for 8. New Zealand seamer Matt Henry removed opener Pathum Nissanka with the first ball of the innings, and recalled batter Charith Asalanka soon followed, leaving the hosts reeling at 6 for 2. New Zealand’s spinners then tightened their grip, varying pace and flight to choke the scoring and force mistakes. Left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra delivered a career-best performance with 4 for 27, while Henry claimed two wickets for just three runs. Kamindu Mendis top-scored for Sri Lanka with 31, but the target proved far beyond reach. The match was a must-win for Sri Lanka following their opening Group 2 defeat to England, and the loss confirmed their elimination from semifinal contention. England have already secured a semifinal spot after beating Pakistan on Tuesday. New Zealand now sit second in the group with three points, having shared a point with Pakistan after their earlier match was washed out by rain. Pakistan must now defeat Sri Lanka by a large margin to keep their slim hopes alive, with both England and New Zealand holding strong net run rates.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has regained his position as the world's number one T20I all-rounder in the latest ICC weekly rankings update, rewarding his stellar performances that led his team to the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage. Raza reclaimed the throne from Pakistan's Saim Ayub, reaching 294 rating points compared to Ayub's 281. The two players have frequently swapped the top spot in recent times. The Zimbabwean skipper secured his return to the summit after playing crucial knocks of 45 against Sri Lanka and 27 against the West Indies during the group stage. ICC announces women's T20 World Cup 2026 schedule: Bangladesh drawn in tough Group 1 Further down the all-rounder list, India's Shivam Dube advanced two places to seventh, while Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi climbed three spots to eighth. In the batting rankings, India's Abhishek Sharma retained his number one spot despite enduring a dismal run of form in the ongoing tournament. After registering three consecutive ducks in the group stage and scoring just 15 against South Africa in the Super Eight, Sharma still holds an 815-point rating, keeping him 61 points clear of England's Phil Salt in second. Meanwhile, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, the tournament's leading run-scorer so far, moved up two places to third. ICC opens hearings into former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte India's Ishan Kishan climbed to fifth, while South Africa's Dewald Brevis broke into the top ten, jumping ten spots to ninth. England captain Harry Brook also surged ten places to 18th following his match-winning century against Pakistan. The bowling rankings saw Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy hold onto the top position. However, South African pacer Corbin Bosch made a massive leap of 21 places to reach third after claiming seven wickets in four matches. West Indies fast bowler Matthew Forde also enjoyed a meteoric rise, jumping 23 spots to seventh, right ahead of India's Jasprit Bumrah, who climbed seven places to eighth. West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie advanced 17 spots to sit tied for 21st.

Test cricket is returning to Australia's tropical north, with Cricket Australia confirming that Bangladesh will play a two-match series in Darwin and Mackay this August. The series will mark Bangladesh's first Test tour Down Under since 2003. The fixtures will serve as the curtain-raiser for the 2026-27 Australian home international season. The opening match will be held at Marrara Stadium in Darwin from August 13 to 17, followed by the second Test at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay from August 22 to 26. Mackay's inclusion is a significant milestone, as it becomes the 12th venue in Australia to host men's Test cricket and will be Queensland's sole Test host for the summer, stepping in while Brisbane's Gabba is sidelined. BCB sets salary caps for inaugural Women's BPL as icon players to earn BDT 1 million Scheduling the matches in the "Top End" allows Cricket Australia to utilize the region's hot and dry winter climate, effectively creating a new window for the longest format outside the traditional southern summer. While the region has regularly hosted white-ball internationals in recent years, it has not seen Test cricket since Sri Lanka toured in 2004. The two nations have not faced each other in the longest format since 2017, when Bangladesh secured a historic maiden Test victory over Australia in Dhaka. A subsequent Australian tour to Bangladesh slated for 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this upcoming series will be the first time the teams meet in the World Test Championship era. Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg noted that the crowded international calendar makes the availability of world-class facilities in August a major advantage.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has finalized the salary structure for local and overseas cricketers ahead of the inaugural Women’s Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL). The player draft for the three-team tournament is scheduled for March 14, with the competition slated to run from April 3 to 15. Local players will be divided into five categories, headlined by the "Icon" tier. Each franchise will recruit one Icon player, who will receive the highest remuneration of BDT 10 lakh. National team captain Nigar Sultana is confirmed as an Icon, while vice-captain Nahida Akter and Sobhana Mostary are under consideration for the remaining two spots. Following the Icons, six cricketers will be placed in Category A, earning BDT 7 lakh each, with franchises picking two players from this tier. Category B will feature 12 players earning BDT 5 lakh each. BCB introduces strict quotas for NCC amid opening eve mishap Around 20 players will be listed in Category C with a salary of BDT 3 lakh. Any player unsold in Category C will be moved to Category D, which carries a base price of BDT 1.5 lakh. National selector Sajjad Ahmed stated the final categorized list will be confirmed in the coming days. Franchises will have the option to sign foreign players directly before the draft or pick them from the draft pool based on player interest. Overseas recruits will be categorized into three salary tiers: Category A ($8,000), Category B ($6,000), and Category C ($3,000). Teams are mandated to include at least four foreign players in their squad and must field exactly two overseas cricketers in the playing XI for every match. The BCB has set the franchise ownership fee at BDT 30 lakh for the three-team event. Nabil Group, the owners of the reigning men's BPL champions Rajshahi Warriors, has already formally expressed interest in acquiring a team. Matches are expected to be hosted at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur and the Bir Shreshtha Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram.

Harry Brook struck his first Twenty20 international century as England edged Pakistan by two wickets on Tuesday, sealing a place in a record fifth successive T20 World Cup semifinal. Brook, who had endured a quiet tournament until then, was promoted from No. 5 to No. 3 following a suggestion from coach Brendon McCullum earlier in the day. He made the change count, powering England to 166 for 8 and steering the chase past Pakistan’s 164 for 9 with five balls remaining. England stumbled early in the reply as Shaheen Shah Afridi removed Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell inside the powerplay, before Tom Banton’s dismissal left them struggling at 58 for 4. Brook responded with an aggressive counterattack, sharing key stands with Sam Curran and Will Jacks. He reached his half-century from 28 balls, went past his previous T20 best of 81, and brought up a commanding 100 off 50 deliveries, becoming the latest England batter to score centuries in all three formats. Brook was bowled immediately after reaching the landmark, having struck 10 fours and four sixes. Afridi finished with 4 for 30 to become Pakistan’s leading T20 wicket-taker, but England remained in control despite losing two more wickets to Mohammad Nawaz. Jofra Archer then settled matters by hitting a boundary off the first ball of the final over. Star Sports deletes controversial 'cupcake' promo after India's crushing defeat Earlier, Pakistan opted to bat on a fresh surface, but apart from Sahibzada Farhan’s 63 off 45 balls, the batting failed to fire. Archer claimed 2 for 32, while spinners Liam Dawson (3 for 24) and Adil Rashid tightened the screws through the middle overs. Pakistan captain Salman Agha admitted the total was below par and credited Brook for taking the game away from his side. Pakistan still has one Super Eights match remaining against Sri Lanka, with its semifinal hopes hinging on other results. England, unbeaten in all five matches at Pallekele in recent weeks, will wrap up the Super Eights in Colombo against New Zealand on Friday. New Zealand plays Sri Lanka there on today.