The 5-match T20I series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will kick off on 3rd May at Chattogram. This will be the last series before Bangladesh’s tour to the USA for a T20I series. Tigers lost their last T20I series against Sri Lanka this March after remaining unbeaten for four series at home. Therefore, they would look toward this series to gather the lost momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Preparatory Bangladesh Squad for Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe T20I series 2024 Najmul Hossain Shanto, Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanvir Islam, Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Saifuddin, and Soumya Sarkar. Zimbabwe have already announced their squad and presumably will reach Bangladesh on 28th April. Bangladesh is expected to announce their final squad on the same day.  Read more: Shakib Gets Dhaka League Green Light, While Mustafizur Pulled from IPL for National Duty Analysis of Bangladesh squad against Zimbabwe Mustafizur Rahman is expected to join the squad after 1st May when his commitment with the IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings ends as per the NOC given by BCB. Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan is expected to return with this series after the World Cup 2023.   The squad has kept plenty of options in all positions. It indicates that Bangladesh will focus on testing and experimenting with as many players as possible to make a strong team for the World T20.   The opening pair of Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar, which had been misfiring for some time, have to be at their absolute best to keep a place in the team. Or else, youngsters like Tanzid Tamim and Parvez Emon are ready to pounce on the opportunity to replace them.  Tanzid Tamim played a brilliant knock of 84 (81) in his last international innings against Sri Lanka this March. He is waiting for his international debut in this format and feels confident after a good BPL campaign.  Parvez Emon has played only a single T20I for Bangladesh. This time after a tremendous BPL campaign, where he is the highest scorer as of now with three centuries from 13 innings, he has been given a chance because of his fiery nature in the top of the innings.  Read more: What lies ahead for Bangladesh spinners under Mushtaq Ahmed's guidance Another important part to focus on the Bangladesh squad is the middle and lower-middle order which will see stiff competition for a place. In the last T20I series against Sri Lanka, the Bangladesh squad included Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, and Rishad Hossain playing brilliantly.  This time with the addition of Mohammad Saifuddin, who also is a great addition to the pace bowling department, and the likes of Tawhid Hridoy and Mahedi Hasan already being there provide Bangladesh great balance and flexibility in the middle and lower-middle order.  Bangladesh get a good core of all-rounders if we look at them individually. Off-spinning all-rounder Mahedi Hasan, leg-spinning all-rounder Rishad Hossain, and a seaming all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin already provide a great variety. Besides, the addition of Shakib Al Hasan will provide greater dynamics to the team. Also, Soumya Sarkar can be effective as an all-rounder as well. The bowling department didn’t see much chop and change with the regular faces of seamers and spinners in Taskin, Shoriful, Sakib, Hasan, and Tanvir. The addition of Mustafiz is also pretty regular in the squad.  However, with so many seaming options, it can be expected that Bangladesh is unlikely to go with a traditional spin-friendly wicket and will try their expertise in a more sporting or batting-friendly one. Read more: Bangladesh vs India Women T20 Series 2024: Fixtures, Squad, H2H Records, Key Players Key Players to watch in the Bangladesh Squad Litton Das Litton Das has been a key factor for Bangladesh doing well in the T20Is last year. He has scored 323 runs in the 9 innings with an average of 40.37 and a strike rate of 137.44. It’s not only the score, his performance proved fruitful for the team. In several matches, he brought Bangladesh quick-firing explosive starts and utilized the power play well.  However, he has been misfiring since the turn of the calendar and has not been able to find his ground. It is important for the Bangladesh team for him to turn up with the bat at the start of the innings. This Zimbabwe series seems to be a perfect opportunity for that and all eyes would be on him to observe if he’s successful in that or not. Jaker Ali Anik  Jaker Ali Anik has played only two innings with the Bangladesh team and has won the hearts of the fans with that. His debut innings of 68(34) has been one of the best at debut for Bangladesh. The fans have liked his big and pinch-hitting capabilities and see him as a ray of hope in the no. 6/7 position where Bangladesh have been struggling all these years. Thus, ahead of the World T20, the fans would want to see some blistering innings from him against Zimbabwe. Rishad Hossain Another player who has won the hearts of fans with his big-hitting capabilities is Rishad Hossain. He only faced 70 balls in T20I and ODI combined and hit 12 sixes. Furthermore, his leg-spin profile has also been something Bangladesh fans have wished for a long time. He has taken six wickets till now in T20Is. Everyone from fans to team management would expect him to excel in both roles. Mohammad Saifuddin Mohammad Saifuddin has been out for a long time due to injury and has now earned a call to the national team again after some good performances in the BPL and DPL 2024. He has always been known for his hard-hitting capabilities with the bat. With bowl, he was one of the most trusted in both the opening and the death overs. Therefore, his proper comeback will be a huge boost for the team both morally and tactically. Hence, everyone will be wishing for his comeback in this series. Read more: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe T20 Series 2024: Fixtures, Head-To-Head Records Final Words The series against Zimbabwe can be a great scope for Bangladesh to fix their limitations and do necessary experiments on the team. The BAN vs ZIM T20I series 2024 series will play a crucial role in selecting the squad for the T20 World Cup in June 2024. Therefore, the expectation remains for everyone to give their best in this series. 

The nine-team UCB Women's Football League 2023-24, Powered by Upay, begins on Saturday (Apr 27) at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur here. Bangladesh Army SC Ltd will play Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan College SC in the opening match,  will kick - off at 3:45 pm in Kamalapur. Two matches will be held on the following day (Sunday) at the same venue. Farashganj SC will play Uttara Football Club Ltd at 9:30 am while Dhaka Rangers FC will encounter Siraj Smrity Sangshad at 3:45 pm on the day. AFC council member and Chairperson of the BFF  Committee for Women's Football  Mahfuza Akter Kiron disclosed the details of the league at a press conference at the BFF House in Motijheel Friday afternoon. Head of Brand Marketing and Corporate Affairs Division of the league sponsor UCB Bank Ltd Abul Kalam Azad, BFF general secretary Imran Hossain Tushar and the captains & coaches of participating teams were also present on the occasion. All the nine participating teams will be given Tk 50,000 (fifty thousand) each as participation money. Besides, the champions will be awarded with Tk 5,00,000 (five lakh) while the runners up team with Tk 3,00,000 (three lakh).

Six times champions Dhaka Abahani Limited managed a hard-fought 1-0 goal victory over hosts Sheikh Russel KC in the Bashundhara Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football  2023-24 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena here Friday afternoon. Despite the day' s victory, Dhaka Abahani Limited remained at the 3rd slot in the 10-team league securing 25 points while Sheikh Russel KC remained at the 8th place with 11 points, playing 13 matches each. Defending champions Bashundhara Kings comfortably dominated the league table securing 31 points while Federation Cup champions Dhaka Mohammedan SC followed the leader distantly with 26 points playing 12 matches each, one match less than Dhaka Abahani Ltd. After barren first half in the day's match, Brazilian forward Bruno Goncalves Rocha scored the match winning goal for the sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani in the 74th minute of the match (1-0). Later, he was adjudged the best player of the match. In the day's other league match, Fortis Football Club advanced to the 5th slot in the league table beating old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS by 2-1 goals at the Bir Shreshtha Fl Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj on Friday. Local defender Rashedul Islam Rashed put Fortis FC ahead in the 26th minute (1-0) while Gambian striker Pa Omar doubled the Fortis FC margin in the 37th  minute (2-0). Ghana forward Samuel Mensah Konney scored the lone goal for Rahmatganj MFS in the 50th minute from a penalty (2-1) After the match, Fortis FC moved up to the 5th place securing 16 points while Rahmatganj MFS remained at the 9th slot with 10 points, playing 13 matches each.

Bangladesh was eliminated from the recurve men's team event of the Hyundai 2024 Archery World Cup, Stage 1, losing to Mongolia by 5-4 sets in the tiebreaker held in the Chinese city of Shanghai on Thursday. Bangladesh's recurved men's team, comprising Hakim Ahmed Rubel, Sagar Islam, and Ram Krishna Ghose, settled for a 4-4 draw with Mongolia in the day's elimination round of 12. Later, both teams took part in the tiebreaker to decide the fate of the match, where Mangolia scored 27 against Bangladesh's 25 to win the match by 5-4 sets. However, Bangladeshi archers will compete in the recurve men's singles on Friday at the same venue. Earlier in the qualification round on Wednesday, Bangladesh's men's team finished 16th among the 28 participating teams, scoring 1983 out of 2160.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has made seemingly contradictory decisions regarding two of its star players. Mustafizur Rahman has been recalled from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for national duty, while Shakib Al Hasan has been granted permission to prioritize Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League matches during a T20I series of Bangladesh against Zimbabwe. While justifying the recall of Mustafizur due to workload concerns, BCB's Jalal Yunus, the cricket operation chief, surprisingly stated that “Mustafizur has nothing to learn from IPL.” The BCB recently announced a 17-member preliminary squad for a training camp in Chattogram, excluding both Shakib and Mustafizur. Initially, chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain indicated Shakib's unavailability, leaving his participation in the Zimbabwe series uncertain. “We will announce the team on 28th April,” Gazi Ashraf said. “That is when you will find out exactly how many matches Shakib will be available for.” However, Shakib himself clarified the situation during a public interaction in the USA, where he currently resides. “I will definitely play in the Zimbabwe series,” Shakib affirmed. He explained that the decision to miss the initial two or three matches was made after discussions with the coach and captain, with the coach suggesting that playing two matches would suffice. Shakib dismissed the speculation surrounding his prioritization of the Dhaka League as “irrelevant.” While Shakib remains a crucial member of the Bangladesh team across all formats, his regular participation in national team matches has been a subject of debate over the last few years. This latest decision further fuels the discussion surrounding the balance between club and country commitments for star players.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a surprising yet exciting addition to the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup: Olympic legend Usain Bolt as an ambassador for the tournament, to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29 of this year. Bolt, known for his electrifying speed and charismatic personality, holds world records in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m sprints. His achievements on the track have transcended borders and inspired a generation of athletes. Now, he aims to bring that same energy and global appeal to the world of cricket. “Coming from the Caribbean, where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart,” Bolt said, expressing his enthusiasm for the role. He aims to support the growth of cricket, particularly in the United States, which he sees as a crucial step towards the sport's inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Bolt's role as ambassador will involve promoting the T20 World Cup, starting with a cameo appearance in the official anthem music video alongside renowned artists Sean Paul and Kes. He will also attend matches in the West Indies and participate in fan engagement events in the United States. ICC CEO Geoff Allardice praised Bolt's involvement, stating, “Usain Bolt is a global icon... His passion for cricket is well known, making him the perfect fit for this role.”

Bangladesh will play Lebanon in their last Group I away match of their Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 11 at a neutral venue—Al Saad Club Stadium in Doha, Qatar. The match between the two teams will kick-off at 7: 00 pm local time and 10: 00 pm Bangladesh time. Two war-torn Arabian nations—Palestine and Lebanon—had to play their home matches in neutral venues due to security reasons. Before the last group match, Bangladesh will play Australia in their home match on June 6 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka. On completion of four group matches each, Australia dominated the group table to qualify for the next round with an all-win record, securing a full 12 points, War-torn Palestine is in the distant second, collecting seven points with two wins, one draw, and one defeat. Lebanon are in the third slot, securing two points with two draws and two defeats, while Bangladesh remained at the bottom with one point from four matches after making a 1-1 draw with Lebanon in their home match in Dhaka. Earlier, Bangladesh suffered a 0-7 goal defeat against World Cup playing Australia in their away match, drew 1-1 with Arabian nation Lebanon in the home match, suffered a 0-5 defeat against Palestine in their away match in Kuwait, and conceded a shocking 0-1 goal defeat in the dying moment against Palestine in their home match in Dhaka.

Spin bowlers of Bangladesh cricket team are ready to step into the legendary Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed era after 2 years of learning from another great coach Rangana Herath. Former Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed has been appointed as the spin bowling coach of Bangladesh National Cricket Team by BCB till the ICC T20 World Cup tournamnet this year. As of now, Mushtaq Ahmed will have three assignments primarily during his tenure. First will be the upcoming series against Zimbabwe and the USA. The next will be the T20 World Cup 2024. Bowling Profile of Pakistani Cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed  Table: An Overview of Mushtaq Ahmed's International Cricket Career As a Bowler Format Matches Innings Wickets Best Bowling Figures (innings) Best Bowling Figures (Match) Average Economy Strike Rate 5-Wicket Haul 10-Wicket Haul Tests 52 89 185 56-7 106-10 32.97 2.92 67.7 10 3 ODI 144 142 161 36-5 36-5 33.29 4.26 46.8 1 0 . Mushtaq Ahmed made his debut in the international arena in the ODI series against Sri Lanka on May 23, 1989. He picked up 2 wickets for 33 runs in that game. Later in 19th January 1990, he made his test debut in Adelaide against Australia. His final ODI game was at Lahore against South Africa on October 3, 2003. He put curtains on his test career on October 28, 2003. His last wicket was Herschelle Gibbs. Mushtaq Ahmed was a crucial part of Pakistan’s only World Cup triumph in 1992. He was the joint 2nd highest wicket-taker, along with Sir Ian Botham, and only behind Wasim Akram, grabbing 16 wickets in the tournament. He dismissed English opener and skipper Graham Gooch and picked up three wickets in the final.  He also featured for three different county teams. After retiring from international cricket, he delivered his most successful spell in county cricket against Sussex. Moreover, he became the highest wicket-taker in county cricket for five seasons in a row. He also picked 100 wickets in the 2003 season with Sussex. Overall, his first-class career is decorated with 1407 wickets from 309 matches.  Read more: Mushtaq Ahmed arrives in Dhaka to take up assignment with Tigers Mushtaq Ahmed's Journey As a Bowling Coach Table: An Overview of Pakistani Cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed's Career as a Coach Team Tenure Role England National Cricket Team 2008-2014 Spin-Bowling Coach Pakistan National Cricket Team 2014-2016 Bowling Consultant West Indies National Cricket team 2018-2019 Spin-Bowling Coach Pakistan National Cricket Team 2020-2022 Spin-Bowling Coach . Mushtaq Ahmed had his longest coaching spell with the England national cricket team right after his retirement as a player. His notable success in this time might be the incorporation of Graeme Swann who is the 2nd highest wicket-taker as a spinner for England in test cricket.  During his tenure as a bowling consultant for Pakistan, players like Imad Wasim and Yasir Shah made their debut in Pakistan Cricket. Yasir Shah is currently the 5th highest-wicket taker and the 2nd highest-wicket-taker as a spinner for Pakistan in test cricket.  His tenure at Windies was prior to the 2019 World Cup. Keemo Paul debuted during his time. However, over-reliance on pacers in that campaign didn’t leave much room for spinners to shine.  Read more: BCB appoints former Pakistan great Mushtaq Ahmed as spin-bowling coach Recent Performances of Bangladesh Team in Spin Bowling Mushtaq Ahmed is currently appointed for a brief period of time. Therefore, long-term expectations are out of the cards. However, he can still offer plenty to this team. Being one of the legendary leg-spinners of the game, the leg-spinners in our team, especially Rishad Hossain, can benefit from his vast experience and knowledge if Rishad can utilize Mushtaq’s guidance properly. Also, other spinners like Mahedi, Mehedi, and Shakib can benefit from him. More so, Mushtaq can help Shakib hone his traditional and Arm balls particularly. Another interesting factor would be the condition. The T20 World Cup is going to take place in the USA. During his tenure as Windies spin bowling coach, they stayed in the USA for a few matches. So, utilising that experience, Mushtaq Ahmed can help the Bangladeshi spinners to adapt better in that condition.  Read more: BCB Unveils Preliminary Squad for Zimbabwe T20Is, Shakib and Mustafizur Absent What to Expect from Mushtaq Ahmed as the Spin-bowling Coach of Bangladesh Traditionally, Bangladesh relied on its spinners for success. However, in the recent years, Bangladesh Cricket took the limelight away from spinners. Even though spinners played a big role in winning the test match against New Zealand in early December 2023 at Sylhet, the recent series against New Zealand raises some genuine concerns in this department.  Spinners took only 52 of the last 100 wickets in tests for Bangladesh. In the Test format Bangladesh often plays with more spinners rather than pacers. In ODI, spinners took only 7 of the last 47 wickets. And, only 7 of the last 31 wickets in T20Is were picked by the Bangladeshi spinners. If we look back at the World Cup 2023, Bangladesh spinners took only 25 of the 54 wickets while bowling for 189 overs. Their average was 45.36, Strike rate was 43.6 with an economy of 2.77. Bangladesh expects more from their spinners.  Read more: Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe T20 Series 2024: Fixtures, Head-To-Head Records Final Verdict Mushtaq Ahmed has a vast ground of knowledge both as a cricketer and as a player. He has the right profile and experience to guide Bangladesh spinners forward. It is now up to the spinners to turn his guidelines into fruition. Only the future will decide how successful Mushtaq Ahmed is as the spin-bowling coach of the Bangladesh team.

Bangladeshi-origin US-based boxer Jinnat Ferdous won the gold medal in the Nelson Mandela Cup International Boxing Competition held in the South African city of Durban on Tuesday. She clinched the gold medal in the women's 50-kgs weight category competition, beating her Ethiopian opponent in the event's final. Although Jinnat's emergence as a boxer owes mostly to the time she spent growing up in the United State, she took part in the competition as a Bangladeshi competitor, after  Bangladesh Boxing Federation endorsed her entry as Bangladeshi, said General Secretary of Bangladesh Boxing  Federation Mazharul Islam Tuhin. Jinnat also represented Bangladesh in the Hangzhou Asian Games in China held in September last year, but  failed to fulfil the expectation of the countrymen. She was eliminated from the 2nd round of the meet losing to Mongolian rival after getting a bye in the first round Four  Bangladeshi boxers - Jinnat Ferdous and three men Salim Hossain, Abu Talha,  and Hossain Ali -- will  participate in next month's Olympics qualifying round Boxing Tournament in Thailand. Bangladeshi boxers have a good chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics directly  if they are able to win any medal or to make a good result in the Thailand meet.

Former Pakistan leg-spinner and cricketing legend, Mushtaq Ahmed, arrived in Dhaka to assume his new role as the spin bowling coach for the Bangladesh national cricket team. He visited Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday and met with the national team players and other members of the coaching staff. BCB Unveils Preliminary Squad for Zimbabwe T20Is, Shakib and Mustafizur Absent Upon his first meeting with the national team players, Mushtaq expressed his views on the unique challenges of his new position: “It is very challenging. From a coaching skill point of view, it is totally different to the rest of the world. You have to adopt and be very proactive. You have to understand the cricket here.” Despite the challenges, Mushtaq conveyed his belief in the Bangladesh team's potential, stating: “I think that the Bangladesh team can pose a strong challenge to any team in the world.” 'Mustafizur has nothing to learn from IPL,' says BCB Cricket Ops chair His primary objective will be to develop a generation of leg-spinners, addressing a historical gap in Bangladesh cricket. He expressed his enthusiasm for this challenge. Bangladesh has only one leg-spinner in the current set-up— Rishad Hossain, who impressed with both his bowling and hard-hitting batting ability. “There is always a legspinner, mystery spinner and chinaman in the nets in Asia. I think that’s where my experience will come through,” he remarked. “You need to have spinners who can get you wickets in the middle overs of white-ball cricket.” Tamim's international career in limbo as BCB offers no clarity Reflecting on his past visits to Bangladesh as a player, Mushtaq fondly recalled: “I remember when we won the World Cup in 1992, I was part of the team (that visited Bangladesh) in 1993-94. It was always great to visit Bangladesh. The local people are big fans of Pakistani cricketers. The last time I visited Bangladesh as a player was in 1998.”