United News of Bangladesh

The 10-team ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 begins on Thursday  in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Bangladesh taking on debutante Scotland in the opening match at 4 pm at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in the other opening day's fixture at 8 pm at the same venue. Bangladesh beat Scotland in all the four T20 matches and last of which came in September 22. The Women's World Cup 2024 was scheduled to take place in Bangladesh. But, due to the political instability in the country, the ICC shifted the World Cup to the UAE from Bangladesh. All the matches will be in the UAE city Dubai and Sharjah from October 3-20. Earlier, Bangladesh put in Group B of the World Cup with England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland while Group A consists of Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan  and Sri Lanka. In the remaining Group B matches, Bangladesh will play stronger England on Oct 5,  meet West Indies on Oct 10,  both in Sharjah, while face South Africa on October 12 in Dubai. Top two teams from each of the two groups will play in the semifinals. The first semifinal will be held on October 17 in Dubai while the semifinal scheduled for October 18 in Sharjah.  The final will be held on October 20 in Dubai. In the pre-tournament warm-up matches, Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 23 runs and lost to Sri Lanka by 33 runs while Scotland defeated Pakistan by eight wickets and lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets. Bangladesh women's team, which failed to win any  match in the last four edition World Cup, this time, under the leadership of Nigar Sultana Jyoti,  are very serious to win at-least one World Cup match. Bangladesh won their last Women's T20 World Cup match in 2014, when they were  the host. Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced its ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad including new face Disha Biswas. Five players from Bangladesh previous squad --Rumana Ahmed, Rubya Haider, Shorifa Khatun, Sabikun Nahar, and Ishma Tanjim---were dropped. They were replaced by Sobhana Mostary, Fahima Khatun, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, and Disha Biswas. Bangladesh squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup are- Nigar Sultana (captain), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani and Disha Biswas.    

Right-arm Bangladeshi all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has jumped into the top five of the ICC Test all-rounder rankings, his highest career ranking to date. His strong performances with both bat and ball in recent series against Pakistan and India propelled him up the rankings. Against Pakistan in Pakistan, Mehidy took a five-for and hit a half-century that played big role behind Bangladesh’s back-to-back win over Pakistan. Before the India series, Mehidy was ranked seventh. He has now climbed two spots to secure a place among the top five all-rounders. While Mehidy thrived, Shakib Al Hasan dropped out of the top 50 batters for the first time in 14 years. The left-handed batter struggled in both the Pakistan and India series, impacting his batting ranking. Despite this, he retained his position among the top-five Test all-rounders. Ravindra Jadeja currently holds the number one all-rounder spot in Tests, while Jasprit Bumrah leads the bowling rankings in the same format. England's Joe Root tops the batting rankings.

Babar Azam revealed he had stepped down from Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy on Tuesday only six months after being reappointed ODI and Twenty20 skipper by the Pakistan Cricket Board. “I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective as of my notification to the PCB and Team Management last month,” Babar said on X. “Captaincy has been a rewarding experience, but it’s added a significant workload. I want to prioritize my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend quality time with my family, which brings me joy.” Babar stepped down as all-formats captain — including tests — after Pakistan failed to make the semifinals of the 50-over World Cup in India last year. Shaheen Shah Afridi led Pakistan briefly in the T20 format but was removed from the captaincy after Pakistan lost 4-1 to New Zealand. Pakistan hasn’t played an ODI since the World Cup. Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, reappointed Babar as white-ball captain in March, but he could only win a bilateral series against Ireland 2-1. Pakistan drew the home T20 series against New Zealand 2-2 before losing 2-0 to England just before the Twenty20 World Cup, where Pakistan failed to reach the Super Eight stage after losing to co-host United States and archrival India in the group stage. Babar, who hasn’t struck a half century in his last 16 test innings, scored heavily in the recent domestic Champions Cup One-Day Tournament where he hit a century for Stallions and finished as the tournament’s fourth top-scorer with 230 runs in four matches. Babar didn’t lead Stallions and played under the captaincy of Mohammad Haris. Babar led Pakistan in 43 ODIs, winning 26 and losing 15. He also captained Pakistan in 85 T20s with a win-loss record of 48-29. Babar said it was an “honor to lead” Pakistan, but he believed it was time for him to step down and focus on his playing role. “By stepping down, I will gain clarity moving forward and focus more energy on my game and personal growth.”

Bigger and better is the mantra for women’s cricket as the T20 World Cup gets underway on Thursday. The International Cricket Council is hopeful of another stellar outing for the globe’s top female cricketers following the success of the 2023 edition in South Africa and building on the momentum provided by India’s triumph in the men’s tournament this summer. A major stumbling block was overcome after host Bangladesh suffered political turmoil and domestic instability just months before the tournament’s start. It was then moved to the United Arab Emirates with the 23 games to be played across Sharjah and Dubai. The final is on Oct. 20. Bangladesh, which retains hosting rights, kicks off the 10-team tournament Thursday against debutant Scotland in Sharjah. Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in the evening game at the same venue. Defending champion and firm favorite Australia is in group A along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Group B comprises South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Scotland. Australia will be gunning for a fourth straight title, falling short in 2016 when West Indies beat them in the final at Kolkata. “T20 World Cups are really hard to win — it’s the best against the best and whoever can be most consistent or win those little moments along the way can get the job done," Australia's Alyssa Healy said in her captain’s column ahead of the World Cup. “Conditions are a little unknown for us — only a few of our squad have played in the UAE before, while most of our players were involved with The Hundred prior.” Australia, which has twice won three in a row, will be wary of India’s threat. Semifinalists in 2023, where they lost to Australia in Cape Town, the “Women in Blue” have improved thanks in large part to the Women’s Premier League in India. It was set up to provide a platform for India’s women cricketers to express themselves and gain in stature. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, 12 of this Indian side have played the tournament before. And three new stars in the making — Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and S Sajana — are eager for a first taste at the big stage. “I can say this is the best team we are going for a T20 World Cup with,” Kaur said in a press conference. “We have players who have been together for a long time. We know what the pressure is like and we know how to handle it.” India has never won a women’s T20 World Cup. It came close in 2020, finishing runner-up to Australia, and lost in the semifinals in 2018 and 2023. For Kaur, this will be a 10th consecutive tournament since 2009 and she will be keen to replicate Rohit Sharma’s triumph with the Indian men’s side earlier in the summer. India starts its campaign on Friday against New Zealand and then will face Pakistan on Sunday — both games in Dubai. It plays Australia on Oct. 13. Group A will open with a replay of the Asia Cup semifinal, where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan. Meanwhile, England will be firm favorites to advance from Group B. It has been a bare run for the inaugural champion, and under Heather Knight again, the 2009 winners will be keen to get past the semifinals at a minimum. “It can be an unpredictable tournament," Knight said. “It is important for us not to change how we play and approach it with a one game at a time mentality.” Opening its campaign against Bangladesh, England will be wary of the conditions. The hosts have lined up five spinners in its squad, thus indicating what’s potentially in store for the three-week tournament. South Africa, the runner-up last time, is led this time led by Laura Wolvaardt and will open its campaign against West Indies. “Reaching our first-ever World Cup final in 2023 was a big landmark moment for us. Now we would like to go that one step further and lift the trophy,” Wolvaardt said. The big question remains if anyone can stop Australia. There is further incentive to do just that — the ICC has confirmed prize money of $2.34 million, equal to the men’s tournament and an increase of 134% over what Australia received for winning in 2023.

Bangladesh women's team completed their ICC Women's T20 World Cup preparations with a winning note, beating Pakistan by 23 runs in the 2nd and last warm-up match at the ICC Academy ground in Dubai on Monday. Bangladesh conceded a 33-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up there. In the second warm-up match, Bangladesh women's batted first after winning the toss and scored 140 for 7 in quota 20 overs. Lower order Shorna Akter quickfired the team's highest unbeaten 28 runs off 17 balls, featuring three fours, opener Shathi Rani made 16-ball 23 runs with five boundaries; and skipper Nigar Sultana Joyti scored 18 runs off 22 balls with a four. Sadia Iqbal took two Bangladesh wickets, conceding 19 runs in her four overs. Chasing a target of 141 runs, Pakistan were all out for 117 runs in 18.4 overs. Omaima Sohail contributed the match's highest run a ball, hitting 33 runs and three boundaries, while Fatima Sana scored 17 runs off 12 balls for Pakistan. Rabeya Khan, Shorna Akter, and Fahima Khatun took two Pakistani wickets each. Bangladesh will play Scotland in the opening match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday (Oct 3).

India beat Bangladesh in the Kanpur Test by seven wickets on the fifth day afternoon. They took only a little more than two days to win this match. India only needed 95 runs to win this Test after Bangladesh faltered in their second innings. They have done this with more than a session left. With the win in Kanpur, India finished the series 2-0, and they are now at the top of the table in the ICC Test Championship. Despite losing more than two days to rain, Bangladesh still couldn't salvage at least a draw from the match, which was an unexpected outcome given the circumstances. Bangladesh's batting collapse handed them an unexpected defeat. At the same time, India's clever batting approach in their first innings, where they scored more than eight runs per over, also turned the match in their favor. In their first innings, India made some world records for aggressive batting. They are now the holder of the records of the fastest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 runs in the history of Test cricket. In the second innings of Bangladesh, the onus was on the batters to bat as long as possible in the second innings. But they failed to do that. Only Shadman Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim showed some resistance against the Indian attack. While Shadman scored a fifty, Mushfqiur fell for 37. Mominul Haque, who scored a century in the first innings, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz all failed to keep the match alive. For India, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each. Earlier, Bangladesh scored 233 in the first innings. In reply, India scored 285 for nine.  

Cricketer-turned-politician Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is alleged to have "forcibly taken over" shares belonging to a US expatriate in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Sylhet Strikers. A case was filed following the complaint lodged by the expatriate, Sarowar Golam Chowdhury, at the capital’s Pallabi Police Station on Monday afternoon, said Nazrul Islam, OC of Pallabi police station. In the case statement, Chowdhury has made several allegations against Mashrafe, including the takeover of BPL shares by force The OC stated, "We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action if the complaint is substantiated." According to the case details, seven individuals have been accused. Five are named, while two are listed as unidentified. The accused include Helal bin Yusuf alias Shubo, Imam Hasan, KM Russell, and Bablu, apart from Mashrafe.

Struggling Pakistan captain Shan Masood feels the test team has an opportunity to capitalize on home advantage against strong England and end its long drought of 10 winless home matches. England, led by Ben Stokes, will arrive on Wednesday for back-to-back test matches at Multan, starting next week. Rawalpindi will host the third test from Oct. 24-28. “We all have a huge opportunity to turn this around against England and hopefully we can take a good start in Multan,” Masood told reporters in southern port city of Karachi on Monday. “We’re all very excited and hope we get memorable results against England.” Pakistan's long winless home streak includes a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of England when it last toured to the country in 2022. Masood’s performances – both as a top-order batter and captain – are also under the scanner after suffering five successive losses since being elevated to test skipper last year. Under his captaincy, Pakistan lost 3-0 in Australia and last month suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat against Bangladesh at home. Pakistan’s last home test win came against South Africa in early 2021. Since then it has lost to England, Australia and Bangladesh, while drawing against New Zealand. “It’s not acceptable for Pakistan to not win a home test for that long and we accept the responsibility for that,” Masood said. “The players are hurt, we’re all hurt. As a cricketing nation, as people that follow cricket, whether that’s the media, whether that’s the fans, whether that’s the cricketers themselves and the cricket board, everyone’s hurt right now.” The selection committee, which also includes Masood and red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie, has kept faith in the same team which had a woeful series against Bangladesh with only 37-year-old left-arm spinner Noman Ali getting recalled in the 15-member squad. Pakistan’s batting woes at the top had let the team down against Bangladesh with Babar Azam and Masood failing to convert good starts, while opening batter Abdullah Shafique also struggled upfront. Left-handed young opener Saim Ayub showed occasional brilliance but was guilty of throwing away his wicket after scoring two half centuries against Bangladesh. “My challenge to the batting unit would be that both times when we’ve played against Bangladesh, we batted well in the first innings, but how can we make that better,” Masood said. “How can we turn the second innings collapses into match winning scores, that’s the challenge that I put out to our batting side. We’ve got capable enough batsmen, that’s why we’re trying to back the same batting unit and hopefully they can turn it around in this series.” England will be without the retired James Anderson and express fast bowler Mark Wood, who both were part of the squad which toured Pakistan two year ago. But Masood believes it won’t be easy for Pakistan. “Anderson’s not there, Wood’s not there, but they’ve still got 17 quality players that can play this game,” Masood said. “There have been a lot of new upcoming players which will be very exciting to watch in the cricketing world in the future … they’ve got a lot of experience, a lot of world class current players as well.”

In the history of Test cricket, no team ever scored a hundred or a 200-run as fast as India did in the ongoing Kanpur Test against Bangladesh.  To reply to Bangladesh’s first innings of 233 runs, India declared on 285 for nine, securing a first-innings lead of 52 runs.  After rain after rain, Bangladesh finally played some cricket on the fourth day of the Kanpur Test and ended their first innings at 233.  Mominul Haque was the main contributor, scoring his 13th Test ton. Najmul Hossain Shanto was the second-highest run getter with 31. Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets for the hosts.  In reply, India unleashed a brutal batting display, scoring the first 50 runs in just three overs— which is a world record. And then they reached 100 runs in 10 overs, which was also the record for the fastest 100 runs in a Test match.  Since the ball-by-ball stats started, no team was able to score 100 runs as fast as India did in this match.  India's onslaught continued as they also secured the records for the fastest 150 and 200 runs in Test cricket. They needed only 24.2 overs to reach the 200-run mark. Instrumental in setting these records were Yashasvi Jaiswal and Lokesh Rahul, both scoring half-centuries. Jaiswal blazed his way to 72 off 51 balls, while Rahul contributed 68 off 43 balls. For Bangladesh, both Shakib Al Hasan and Mehdiy Hasan Miraz took four wickets each.  Bangladesh will have to bat for at least 45 minutes on the fourth day of the Kanpur Test.

Cricket South Africa finally confirmed their tour to Bangladesh to play a two-match Test series. Concerns had arisen about the tour due to the political situation in Bangladesh. However, the CSA was satisfied with the security assurance the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Bangladesh government promised.  A CSA delegation recently visited Bangladesh to assess the security arrangements and emergency protocols. The delegation included Cricket South Africa's operations manager, team security manager, safety and security consultant, and a representative of the South African Cricketers' Association.    Earlier, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was removed from Bangladesh due to concerns regarding security.  The BCB has already announced a schedule for the series. According to the official schedule, the South Africa team will arrive in Dhaka on October 16 ahead of their first Test in Dhaka, which will start on October 21.  The second and final Test will be played in Chattogram, starting on October 29.