cricket
Ex-India skipper Md Azharuddin sacked as regional cricket body chief
Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin has been sacked as the head of a regional cricket board in the southern city of Hyderabad over alleged violation of rules.
In a show-cause notice, the apex council of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has informed 58-year-old Azharuddin about its decision to remove him as the president of the sports body till the completion of an internal probe against him.
Read Who can replace Shakib Al Hasan in Bangladesh Cricket Team?
The former cricketer has also been stripped of the primary membership of the Association, in the wake of complaints that he is a member of a Dubai-based private cricket club which takes part in a tournament not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
"The Apex Council is suspending you and your membership of HCA is being terminated until completion of the inquiry on these complaints (made by some members)," the show-cause notice states. Azharuddin has a week to respond to the notice.
Read Memorable Match Winning Knocks in Tests
World renowned for his wristy strokes and considered one of India's most successful cricket captains, Azharuddin played 99 tests and 334 one day internationals for this country.
However, his international cricketing career came to an end when he was embroiled in a match-fixing scandal in 2000. Azharuddin was subsequently handed down a life ban by India's cricket control board, which was overturned by a higher court in Hyderabad in 2012.
In 2009, Azharuddin was elected as a parliamentarian on a Congress party ticket. In September 2019, he was elected as the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
Read The Best ODI Batsmen of the 21st Century
BAN vs AUS 2021: Australia Announce Squad For The Bangladesh T20 Series
The Australian T20 team will play a five-match series against the host Bangladesh starting in August 2021. This will be Australia's first away series in Bangladesh in four years. Australia last visited Bangladesh back in 2017 and drew a Test series 1-1. Cricket Australia has already announced an 18-man squad for the upcoming series against West Indies and Bangladesh. A few well-known Australian cricketers will be unavailable in the series. Regardless, the announced team is more than capable of putting Bangladeshi players to the test in T20 cricket. Let's take a look at Australia's squad for the Bangladesh T20 series.
Australia’s Squad for the Bangladesh T20 Series 2021
Cricket Australia named their limited-over squad for the series against the Windies and Bangladesh on Wednesday (June 16). Australia will play five T20 matches and three ODIs against host Windies in July. They will next go to Bangladesh for a five-match Twenty20 series against the team tigers.
The Australian selectors included a number of pacers and all-rounders in the white-ball team. Pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood have returned to the Australian limited-over squad for the next two series. They were both absent in the New Zealand series. 24-year-old young fast bowler Wes Agar has received his first international call-up and will most likely make his debut for the Baggy Green in the next series.
Read BAN vs. ZIM Series 2021: Key ODI Records Between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
However, some big names of Australian cricket will not be seen during the West Indies and Bangladesh tours. Steven Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins, and Glen Maxwell are among them.
Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, and Jhye Richardson are among the others who have withdrawn from the upcoming tours owing to personal reasons, while Steven Smith will be absent because of an elbow injury.
The Australia team will be captained by Aaron Finch. Josh Philippe, Matthew Wade, Moises Henriques, and Mitchell Marsh will have to carry most of the responsibility in batting. Australia have plenty of options in bowling, especially in the pace department. So, the national team's management will not have to worry about bowling.
Read Racism in Cricket: Five Racist Incidents in the Gentleman’s Game
Meanwhile, the official schedule for the Bangladesh series has yet to be finalized. Australia have made certain requests on Bangladesh's bio-security arrangements because of Covid-19. BCB will formally announce the Australia series fixture if the two boards reach an agreement on these points.
Preliminary Squad:
Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Riley Meredith, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa, Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Wes Agar.
The probable Australia XI for the first T20I:
Aaron Finch (C), Josh Philippe, Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
Read Who was The Best Captain of Bangladesh Cricket team?
Series fixture
Cricket Australia intends to play five T20 matches at the same venue due to the Coronavirus situation. Therefore, all of Bangladesh's matches against Australia in August are more likely to be staged at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.
Verdict
Bangladesh have never beaten Australia in a T20 match. The two victories of Bangladesh against Australia came in ODI and Test formats. Bangladesh's possibility of winning at least one T20 match is not certain as Australia are a very competitive side. But this will be a golden opportunity for the team tigers' to win a T20 match for the first time against mighty Australian side. In addition, the Bangladesh team can test their strength in the shorter version format through this series. On the other hand, Australia lost their last twenty20 series against New Zealand in March. That's why Australia will take the Windies and Bangladesh T20 series very seriously.
Read West Indies Suffer Innings Defeat; New Zealand Win Series Against England
Mizanur becomes first centurion of Dhaka League T20
Mizanur Rahman of Brothers Union hit 65-ball 100 on Thursday against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and became the first batsman to score a century in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League at BKSP.
Sheikh Jamal won the toss and sent the Brothers bat first, who riding on Mizanur’s bat, scored 133 for two in 17 overs before the rain came and interrupted the game.
Read:Sabbir denies allegation of racism against him by Elias
Along the way of hitting the first ton of the season, Mizanur hit 13 fours and three sixes.
The match never got a resumption due to rain and ended up with no result.
It was the 11th and last game of both teams in the initial round of the Dhaka League T20.
Read:Kamrul takes four wickets as Doleshwar beat Abahani
After all these rounds of games, Sheikh Jamal won six games and ensured a place in the Super League, the next phase of the league, which will be played between six teams.
Brothers, on the other hand, have won only four games and failed to secure a place in the Super League.
The match between Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club and OLD DOHS Sports Club also ended up with no result on Thursday morning, while the other match between Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity and Prime Bank Cricket Club was won by Prime Bank by five wickets under the DL Method.
Read:BAN vs. ZIM Series 2021: Key ODI Records Between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
All these teams— Prime Doleshwar, DOHS, Khelaghar and Prime Bank— have also completed all 11 rounds of games. Of them, Prime Bank and Prime Doleshwar have booked a place each in the Super League which will begin on Saturday.
Sabbir denies allegation of racism against him by Elias
Bangladeshi cricketer Sabbir Rahman has been accused of racism by another cricketer Elias Sunny, an allegation he has denied.
Both Sabbir and Elias had previously played for Bangladesh.
Elias is playing for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League, while Sabbir is representing Legends of Rupganj in the competition.
Also read: Sabbir urges fans to stay home
Elias alleged that Sabbir sledged him with “inappropriate” words during a match between these two teams last Sunday.
“He sledged me using some inappropriate words. I asked him if he knows the meaning of those words. Sabbir sledged me again, and we have some heated exchanges then. But it was done, and I have no problem with that,” Elias told the media after his club submitted an official complaint against Sabbir to the BCB.
“The problem is Sabbir misbehaved with me again today (Wednesday) during our game against Old DOHS. Sabbir came to the field this afternoon as his team was scheduled to play another game at the venue beside ours. While passing by our venue, he called me using the word *** (a racist word). So I reported it to the umpires and my club,” Elias added.
Also read: Bangabandhu T20 Cup: Sabbir eyes return to national team reckoning
The secretary of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, Fayezur Rahman, submitted an official complaint to the BCB against Sabbir. BCB is yet to respond to the letter.
While asked, Sabbir denied the allegation, but at the same time, he said Elias also misbehaved with him, and he will also inform his club now.
Kamrul takes four wickets as Doleshwar beat Abahani
Right-arm pacer Kamrul Islam Rabbi took four wickets for 11 runs Wednesday as Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Abahani by 28 runs in the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
It was Abahani's third defeat in 10 rounds of the ongoing league while Doleshwar won their seventh game in as many rounds.
Batting first after winning the toss, Doleshwar posted 132 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs; Saif Hassan hit the highest run of 58, and Imran Uzzaman and Marshal Ayub scored 23 and 20.
For Abahani, Mehedi Hasan Rana took three wickets conceding 28 runs in four overs while Tanzim Hasan Sakib took two wickets.
Chasing 133, Abahani were bundled out for 104 runs in 19.5 overs. Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim and Mosaddek Hossain were the only batsmen to reach the double-digit. They scored 26, 22 and 14.
Kamrul bagged four wickets in 2.5 overs, Sharifullah took two wickets conceding 12 runs in four overs for Doleshwar.
In the other match of the day, Legends of Rupganj beat Partex Sporting Club by 21 runs. Rupganj batted first and scored 131 runs for six in 20 overs; Sunzamul Islam and Naeem Islam scored 30 and 29.
In reply, Partex managed to score 110 for eight in 20 overs. Mohammad Shahid taking two wickets for Rupganj.
BAN vs. ZIM Series 2021: Key ODI Records Between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe have recently been in poor form in the international circuit. They've lost ten of their last eleven One-day Internationals. Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan in their most recent ODI encounter in a super-over contest. On the other hand, Bangladesh have won two of their previous three ODI series. Bangladesh were unable to put up a strong resistance against Zimbabwe at the beginning of the 21st century. But now, Zimbabwe are failing to win against Bangladesh. Each of the past 16 One-Day Internationals between the two sides has been won by Bangladesh. Let’s take a look at the key ODI records between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Head to head Bilateral ODI series record
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will play a three-match One-Day International series starting on July 16. Both teams will be looking for a series victory. The following is the Bangladesh-Zimbabwe head-to-head bilateral ODI series record.
Read Racism in Cricket: Five Racist Incidents in the Gentleman’s Game
Eighteenth bilateral ODI series:
Both teams had played seventeen bilateral ODI series before the upcoming series. Bangladesh have won eleven bilateral series, while Zimbabwe have won six. Fifth bilateral ODI series in Zimbabwe: This will be the eighth bilateral ODI series in Zimbabwe. Bangladesh have won two series in Zimbabwe, while the hosts have won the remaining series.
Ten bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh have hosted ten bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe. In which, Bangladesh have won nine of them while Zimbabwe have won one in the 2001/2002 season.
Read Who was The Best Captain of Bangladesh Cricket team?
Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe: Key ODI Records ahead of the series
Bangladesh have won the most One-Day Internationals against Zimbabwe. The following are some of the most noteworthy ODI records between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe …
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Matches Played (75)
47
28
Most Runs
Tamim Iqbal (1684 runs in 41 innings)
Brendon Taylor (1410 runs in 52 innings)
Highest Score
Liton Das (176)
CK Coventry (194*)
Most Hundreds
ShahriarNafees, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan (3)
Brendon Taylor (2)
Most Wickets
Shakib Al Hasan (74)
Raymond Price (35)
Best Bowling Figures
AbdurRazzak (5/29)
Bryan Strang (6/20)
Most Matches
Mushfiqur Rahim (48)
Elton Chigumbura (55)
Highest Partnership
Tamim Iqbal&Liton Das (292)
Grant Flower & Andy Flower (161)
Most Catches
MahmudullahRiyad (18)
Hamilton Masakadza (25)
Most Dismissals
Mushfiqur Rahim (63)
Brendon Taylor (43)
Source: Espncricinfo
Read Has Shakib learned from his mistakes?
Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe series: Venue stats
ODI Record at the Harare Sports Club, Harare (All ODIs will be played at this venue)
Matches Played: 152 | Bat-first (won): 73 | Bat-Second (won): 76 | Highest Innings: 178* (Hamilton Masakadza) |Best Bowling: 6/22 (Fidel Edwards) | Highest Team innings: 350/6 | Lowest Team Innings: 35
Bangladesh’s record at the Harare Sports Club: Win: 6 | Lost: 11
Zimbabwe’s record at the Harare Sports Club: Win: 43 | Lost: 89
Source:Espncricnfo
Read How New Zealand can become world's No.1 Test team ahead of WTC final against India
Players to watch out in Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe Series 2021
Bangladesh
Three Key Batsmen: Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, MahmudullahRiyad
Three Key Bowlers: Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, MehidyMiraz
Predicted Playing XI
Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, MahmudullahRiyad, Mosaddek Hossain, MehidyMiraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain
Zimbabwe
Three Key Batsmen: Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams
Three Key Bowlers: Donald Tiripano, Blessing Muzarabani, TendaiChisoro
Predicted Playing XI
Brian Chari, Justice Chibhabha (Captain), Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor (WK), Sean Williams, Wesley Madhevere, SikandarRaza, Donald Tiripano, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, TendaiChisoro
Read International Fixtures Which Could Help Bangladesh's T20 World Cup Preparation
Bottom Line
Bangladesh are now far ahead of Zimbabwe according to the key ODI records between the two sides. We can expect a close contest between these two sides because this series is part of the ICC ODI World Cup Super League. But Bangladesh will begin the series as the favourite.
Mohammedan beat Khelaghar in DPL's first Super Over
In the first Super Over of the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League Wednesday, Mohammedan Sporting Club beat Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity at BKSP.
Due to rain, the match was reduced to a 10-overs-a-side. Mohammedan won the toss and batted first. They posted 88 runs for nine wickets in 10 overs; Abdul Mazid hit 57 off 30 balls with five fours and four sixes.
However, three Mohammedan batsmen failed to score any runs while four others scored 7, 5, 8 and 2.
For Khelaghar, Ifran Hossain bagged four wickets conceding nine runs in two overs.
In reply, Khelaghar posted 88 for five wickets in 10 overs and took the match to Super Over with the scores tied. Masum Khan and Jahurul Islam posted 33 and 28.
Taskin Ahmed bagged two wickets conceding 22 runs in two overs while Asif Hasan, Shuvagata Hom and Abu Jayed took one wicket each for Mohammedan.
In the Super Over, Khelaghar posted 13 off Abu Jayed; Masum Khan hit two fours. In reply, Mohammedan's Irfan Sukkur hit a six off the first ball bowled by Khaled Ahmed, and Abdul Mazid hit a four to ensure a thrilling win for the side.
In the other matches on the day, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club beat Old DOHS Sports Club by 16 runs in the rain-hit game at BKSP which was reduced to 13-overs-a-side, while Prime Bank Cricket Club beat Brothers Union by six wickets through DL Method.
Racism in Cricket: Five Racist Incidents in the Gentleman’s Game
Sports may be a breeding ground for bigotry and racial prejudice but it has also the potential to promote social cohesiveness and fundamental values like mutual respect, and tolerance. Lately, the anti-racism movement has become a hot topic in cricket following English cricketer Ollie Robinson's international suspension for racist remarks in the past. Cricket has a low prevalence of racist and discriminatory behavior when compared to other sports though there have been several instances of racialism in the gentleman's game. That's why the ICC is committed to eradicating racism in cricket. The five racist incidents in cricket are discussed in this article.
Five Notable Racist Incidents in Cricket
The racist comments of Mark Vermeulen
In 2015, Zimbabwe Cricket Board banned batsman Mark Vermeulen from all cricket. It was reported that Vermeulen had engaged in a racist rampage on social media and he referred to black Zimbabweans as "apes" in one of his remarks. He allegedly said such things to Zimbabwe cricketer Prosper Utseya'. Later, Vermeulen apologized to Utsaya and the general public. However, the Zimbabwe Cricket Board did not lift the ban imposed on him.
Read: DPL T20 2021: Prime Bank Propel to Top
West Indies vs Australia series (1975/1976)
The West Indies cricket team visited Australia in the 1975-1976 cricket season. During the tour, it is reported that Australian cricketers made racial remarks towards West Indian cricketers both on and off the field. Not only the players but also the Australian crowd hurled racial insults towards the West Indian cricketers. Later on, a fair bit of writing was done on the subject.
The Osama Remark
England all-rounder Moeen Ali stated in his autobiography that an Australian cricketer referred to him as "Osama" during the first Test of the 2015 Ashes series. As a Muslim cricketer with a beard, he could not take such a comment well. Because Moeen Ali believes he has been labeled a terrorist by the remark "Take that, Osama." Later, the Australian Cricket Board looked into the allegation and found no truth in it.
Read: Who was The Best Captain of Bangladesh Cricket team?
The Terrorist Remark
Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones worked as a commentator for the Test series between South Africa and Sri Lanka in 2006. Dean Jones referred to South African cricketer HashimAmla as a terrorist during his commentary of a match. He was heard saying "the terrorist has got another wicket" after Amla grabbed the catch to remove Kumar Sangakkara. Jones was later fired by Ten Sports as a result of the incident.
The 'Monkeygate' scandal
Spinner Harbhajan Singh and batsman Andrew Symonds had a spat in the second Test between India and Australia in Sydney in 2006. Harbhajan Singh referred to Symonds as 'Monkey' at one point during the argument. Although Harbhajan was initially banned for three matches by the ICC match referee, the two teams' players eventually resolved the matter among themselves. The ICC deducted 50% of Harbhajan's match fee when a second investigation revealed no such truth of the allegations.
Read: West Indies Suffer Innings Defeat; New Zealand Win Series Against England
Bottom Line
The five racist incidents listed above are really a dark chapter in cricket's history. So, everyone must work together to remove racism from cricket. What exactly is racism? What type of societal impact may this sort of conduct and attitude have? These issues need to be discussed. Players in age-level cricket must be disciplined and made aware of corruption and racism. These cricketers will refrain from this kind of behavior when they play senior-level cricket in the future.
Read: BCB to introduce shadow national team “Bangladesh Tigers”
BCB to introduce shadow national team “Bangladesh Tigers”
Bangladesh Cricket Board is soon going to form a shadow national team under the brand name of Bangladesh Tigers, BCB President Nazmul Hassan said on Tuesday.
Team Bangladesh Tigers will be coached by the local staff under the instructions of the head coach of the national team, Nazmul added.
“We have decided to form a new team under the name of Bangladesh Tigers which will be a shadow of the national team,” he told the media after the 10th general meeting of the board at the BCB headquarter in Mirpur.
“The players who get omitted from the national team often lack facilities to keep themselves fit or ready to make a comeback to the national team, so we have decided to form a shadow team. All the players of this team will get the maximum facilities to get prepared,” Nazmul said.
He said “The initiative of the Bangladesh Tigers will continue around the year and they will get the best possible facilities from the board. We can provide players to the national from here when needed.”
The current selection panel, led by Minhajul Abedin, will continue to work till the next T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India later this year, said the BCB boss.
The board decided to run to host the next edition of the ICC Champions Trophy as the lone host. The ICC has recently finalized the big events of cricket which will take place from 2024 to 2031.
During this period, a total of two 50-over World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two editions of the Champions Trophy will take the place.
“A country needs to have at least 10 stadiums with full facilities to host a 50-over World Cup, or at least eight venues to host T20 World Cup. So we are not going to try to host 50 or 20-over World Cups alone. Instead, we will run to host a Champions Trophy. And at the same time, we also try to host 50 or 20-over World Cup jointly with any sub continental team,” Nazmul added.
BCB has also finalized a Tk. 260-crore budget for the next fiscal , confirmed the board president.
The board discussed some complaints surfacing in the media about the bias umpiring in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League. The board has already formed a committee to investigate the issues related to the league.
“We came to hear that the umpiring in the league is not up to the mark. And there are some complaints about possible irregularities in the league. But we didn’t receive any complaint from the match officials, clubs or players,” Nazmul said.
BCB has increased the number of women players from 19 to 22 for the national contract which will be finalized in the coming weeks. At the same time, the central contract of the men’s team will also be announced soon by the cricket operation committee of the board.
Dhaka League goes live on TV
The Super League round of Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League will be telecast live through private tv channels-- GTV and T Sports, Kazi Inam Ahmed, chairman of the cricket committee of Dhaka metropolis, said on Tuesday.
Nine of the first 11 rounds have been completed. The 10th and 11th rounds will take place on June 16 and 17 respectively.
Read:DPL T20 2021: Prime Bank Propel to Top
These rounds, a total of three matches will be played each day at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, while the other three will be played at BSKP.
The top six teams after the initial rounds will take part in the Super League where each team will take on others five times, and after this round, the team which will earn the highest points will lift the title.
Read:Munim continues to shine for Abahani
“We are excited to share that the Super League matches of BDPDCL T20 will be telecast live jointly by T Sports and GTV. The league so far has produced some really exciting matches with all the national team stars participating in this league. I am sure the viewers will enjoy watching the Super League from their homes. All 6 teams will be playing every day in three matches, and all games will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium,” Kazi Inam quoted in a press release.
After the first nine rounds of the game, Prime Bank Cricket Club are now at the top of the table with 14 points from seven wins, while Abahani Limited also have the same amount of points, but they are slightly behind Prime Bank who have a better run rate.
Read:Mushfiqur named ICC Player of the Month for May
Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club, Gazi Group Cricketers, Mohammedan Sporting Club and Brothers Union are the other teams in the top six of the table.
The other six teams are— Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity, Shinepukur Cricket Club, OLD DOHS Sports Club, Legends of Rupganj and Partex Sporting Club.