Bangladesh star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has been nominated for the International Cricket Council’s Men's ODI Player of the Year award. Along with him, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, South African batter Janneman Malan, and Ireland batter Paul Stirling have also been named for the same.  Read: It’s tough to play all formats together: Shakib Shakib is the only allrounder among the nominees. In the pandemic-hit year, Shakib batted in nine matches and scored 277 runs with two fifties. He also bagged 17 wickets. Shakib’s bowling performance is keeping him ahead of the other nominees.  2021 was the year when Bangladesh allrounder made a comeback after serving a ban imposed on him by the ICC due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him by the bookies.  Shakib started a challenging year with the home series against the West Indies and emerged player of the series. Right before that series, he participated in the inaugural Bangabandhu T20 Cup at the domestic level but failed to impress. That was his first competitive cricket event after the ban ends.  Read: Shakib Al Hasan's next stop: Bank director After the home series against West Indies, Shakib played against Sri Lanka as well but failed to continue on a good run. He returned to his true form against Zimbabwe when he amassed 145 runs in three ODIs and bagged eight wickets— which help him to earn the second player of the series award in the same calendar year.  While Shakib shone both with ball and bat, Babar, the Pakistan captain did well with the bat scoring 405 in six matches with two centuries, and Janneman also batted superbly scoring 509 in eight matches with two centuries, and Paul also did well with the bat amassing 705 runs in 14 ODIs he played in the year with three centuries and two fifties— which was also the highest run by any batters in the format in the calendar year of 2021. 

Is cricket making a return at the 2028 Olympics? The IOC has a negative view of cricket. Cricket hasn't been in the Olympics in a long time since it takes five days to play. The ICC is optimistic that cricket will be featured in the Olympics again, thanks to the popularity of T20 cricket and the fact that it takes less time to play this format. It is not certain that the T20 format will be considered if cricket is included in the Olympics again. The ICC is pushing to return cricket to the Olympics and some actions have already been taken. Read: Big step towards becoming a big team: Shakib The ICC's Initiatives to bring cricket back to the Olympics The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already started the process of bringing cricket back to the Olympics.A working committee has already been formed for this purpose. The committee will take steps to include cricket in the Olympics. The ICC's initial objective is to get cricket included in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Ian Watmore will lead the ICC Olympic Working Group. Indra Nooyi (ICC’s Independent Director), Tavengwa Mukuhlani (ICC Associate Member Director), Mahinda Vallipuram (Vice President of the ACC), and Parag Marathe (Chairman of USA Cricket) will accompany him. Read:BAN vs. NZ 2021: New Zealand Announce Squad For the T20 Series against Bangladesh As per the ICC, the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympics itinerary will be a big achievement. Moreover, cricket is followed by over a billion people worldwide, including over 30 million cricket enthusiasts in the United States. Therefore, cricket should be included in the Olympic Games if the commercial aspect of the game is considered.  Cricket will be included at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. The International Cricket Council officials believe this will be an ideal platform to exhibit what this sport can contribute to the Olympics. Read: Shakib Al Hasan Favourite to Win ICC’s Player of the Month for July Cricket was last played at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 1900, with just Great Britain and the hosts France competing. The only cricket match at the Olympics was held between Great Britain and France. It was a low-scoring contest and in the end, Great Britain won the match by 156 runs.

The former performance analyst of Sri Lanka Cricket, Sanath Jayasundara, has been handed a seven-year ban from all cricket after the International Cricket Council (ICC) found him guilty of breaching its Anti-Corruption Code. Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral argument, the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found Jayasundara guilty of offering a bribe or other reward to the Sri Lankan sports minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match, the global governing body of cricket said Monday. He was also found obstructing or delaying an Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigation into possible corrupt conduct under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. ICC General Manager (Integrity Unit) Alex Marshall, said: "Jayasundara's attempt to bribe a minister is a grave transgression while the efforts to cover up his tracks and the lack of remorse are hugely disappointing." "We won't tolerate corrupt conduct in our sport, and my team will be relentless in preventing such behaviour. This ban should serve as a deterrent for anyone who may be tempted along the wrong path." The ban is backdated to May 11, 2019, when Jayasundara was provisionally suspended.

He was a complete allrounder during his age-level cricket. He used to bat at number four and amassed ample runs. He used to bowl 10 overs in 50-over games regularly and scalped many wickets. His bowling was more effective than his batting. Still, the 23-year-old allrounder never was a fan of the idea that he could break into the world’s top bowlers.  And yet, Mehidy Hasan Miraz is now the number two ODI bowler in the world as per the latest ranking updates by the International Cricket Council published on May 26. In his immediate reaction, Mehidy said: “Praise be to Allah. I’m excited to know that I’m now the number two ODI bowler in the world, but I never thought that I could reach this height.” Read:Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: 3rd ODI Match Preview There were many reasons behind Mehidy’s thinking of himself that he couldn’t become a top-class bowler. One of the main of those reasons was his mindset. He had been thinking only to contain the runs for a long time. He never believed that he could be the bowler who can take wickets and trap the batsmen the way he wants, only bringing some changes into his bowling.  But things started to change ahead of Bangladesh’s last tour to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series when spin-bowling consultant Daniel Vettori was unable to join the team due to travel restrictions imposed to tackle the Covid-19 situation around the globe. It came as a blessing in disguise for Mehidy who got the service of his childhood coach Sohel Islam in Sri Lanka. BCB appointed Sohel as a substitute for Vettori.  “We started to work together ahead of the Sri Lanka Tests,” Sohel told the media after coming to know Mehidy’s new achievement of becoming the number two bowler in the world. “The only problem was his mindset. He used to be more aggressive to take wickets, which eventually forces him to make mistakes. So the first thing we wanted to do is fix his mindset.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch used in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as "below average." In a press release sent to the media on Wednesday evening, the ICC said match referee Ranjan Madugalle called the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium pitch in Kandy "substandard." So, the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. Also read: Rain forces early close of high-scoring Kandy Test "The character of the pitch hardly changed over five days. There was no shift in the balance between bat and ball as the game progressed," Madugalle said. "The pitch remained batting-friendly throughout, resulting in a total of 1289 runs scored in the match for the loss of 17 wickets at an average of 75.82 runs per wicket, which is very high. So, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average," he added. Madugalle's report has been forwarded to Sri Lanka Cricket. Also read: Kandy Test: Bangladesh declare posting a mammoth score Both Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque and head coach Russell Domingo have criticised the wicket, too, saying it was not the wicket that they had expected ahead of the game. Dimuth Karunaratne, the hosts' captain, also said they were expecting a better wicket.  The second and final Test of this two-match series will commence tomorrow at the same venue.

Domestic cricket leagues and international bilateral series were postponed one by one after the global lockdown was announced in March 2020. It was possible to adjust the schedule of domestic leagues, but changing the international cricket fixtures was extremely difficult. A significant number of Test championship matches were suspended due to the Coronavirus. The schedules for the two T20 World Cups were deferred by one year towards the end of the year. The timetable for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup has also been changed. How the COVID-19 Pandemic has changed ICC’s cricket schedule is discussed in this article. Major cricket tournaments, postponed by ICC International cricket fixtures have been suspended indefinitely since March of last year due to the sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus. The majority of them were Test championship matches. Read: How European football is badly affected by the pandemic covid-19? Meanwhile, there was hope at first on arranging the twenty20 world cup, but the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia was later canceled due to covid-19 spread. The ICC announced in July 2020 that the T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021 have been deferred by one year due to epidemics. As a result, the 2020 tournament will take place in India in November 2021, while Australia will host the 2021 tournament in October 2022. In addition, India will host the Cricket World Cup in 2023 in November, eight months later than initially planned. The ICC has suspended the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup and its qualifying round by one year due to the epidemic. Read: T20 World Cup 2021: Five Things the Bangladesh Team Needs To Address Before the World T20 2021 Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic upon the notable cricket fixtures Many domestic and international cricket matches were suspended due to the epidemic. So, only the most significant cricket schedules are highlighted here. February 11, 2021 ·         Ireland Test team tour of Zimbabwe suspended due to the increase in coronavirus infections. February 4, 2021 ·         Bangladesh national cricket team tour of New Zealand for limited over series rescheduled for a week. February 2, 2021 ·         Australia postponed its scheduled tour of South Africa because of the growing concern about the Covid-19 outbreak.      Read How Can Bangladesh directly qualify for the world cup 2023? December 7, 2020 ·         England tour of South Africa suspended due to the pandemic coronavirus panic. August 8, 2020 ·         The twenty20 series between Zimbabwe v Afghanistan was called off. August 7, 2020 ·         England tour of India deferred for 2021. July 9, 2020 ·         Asia Cup tournament deferred for 2021.      Read Mustafiz's Rajasthan vs Shakib's Kolkata: Which team has the best chance to win the IPL 2021? June 30, 2020 ·         Zimbabwe-Australia 3-match ODI series postponed. June 24, 2020 ·         Bangladesh Test team tour of Sri Lanka postponed due to epidemic covid-19. June 23, 2020 ·         New Zealand tour of Bangladesh postponed June 12, 2020 ·         India postponed their tour to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.      Read Bangladesh vs New Zealand ODI Series 2021: Bangladesh Team Report Card May 28, 2020 ·         ECB suspended their all domestic competitions until August 1. April 30, 2020 ·         ECB suspended the inaugural edition of ‘The Hundred’ until 2021. April 22, 2020 ·         Pakistan's tour of Netherlands suspended due to the pandemic covid-19. March 21, 2020 ·         The ODI series between Bangladesh and Ireland in England postponed.       Read How to Become a Cricketer in Bangladesh: An Overall Guideline March 19, 2020 ·         BCB suspended Dhaka Premier League (DPL) until mid-April. March 18, 2020 ·         European Cricket Association postponed their cricket League. March 16, 2020 ·         BCB postponed the third phase of Pakistan tour. ·         CSA suspended their all cricket tournaments.       Read Top Online Shops to Find Sports Equipment in Bangladesh March 14, 2020 ·         The rest of the ongoing Australia v New Zealand series canceled. ·         The Windies Cricket postponed their all regional cricket for a month. March 13, 2020 ·         India v South Africa series, England vs Sri Lanka series, Netherlands vs Namibia series all have postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak. ·         IPL 2020 deferred for a month.       Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka 2021: Five Things Bangladesh Cricket Team Must Do To win the Test Series in Sri Lanka March 11, 2020 ·         The much anticipated Bangabandhu T20 Cup between World XI v Asia XI postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak. Bottom Line Countries were forced to postpone international cricket fixtures because of the covid-19 pandemic, and no international matches were held for four months. As a result, cricket's top governing body had to cancel a notable number of international series. The teams could not play several ICC Test Championship series as the matches were not held on time. The championship would have been much more exciting if all of the games were played according to the full schedule. The top two teams in the points table, India and New Zealand will compete in the ICC Test Championship final in June. In addition, the way COVID-19 Pandemic has changed ICC’s cricket schedule, the teams will be required to play nonstop international cricket for the next two years. Read: Without senior players, what Bangladesh’s ODI Cricket team could look like?

Jatiya Party Chairman Ghulam Muhammed Quader on Friday congratulated Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team for getting Test status. “It’s a great achievement that Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team obtained the Test status,” he said in a congratulatory message sent to the media. GM Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition in Parliament, greeted the coaches concerned and officials of the board as well. Besides, JP Secretary-General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu congratulated the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team. The International Cricket Council on Friday awarded Test status to the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team. Also read: Tigresses awarded Test status Along with the Tigresses, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe women’s teams were also awarded the status. In the ICC’s latest meeting, it was decided to award Test status to all women’s teams of the full-member nations of the ICC. With the inclusion of three new teams, the number of women’s Test teams rose to 13.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Friday awarded Test status to the Bangladesh Women's cricket team. Along with the Tigresses, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe women's teams were also awarded the Test status. It was decided in the latest meeting of ICC that Test status would be granted to all women's teams of the full-member nations of the ICC. Also read: Women cricketers join individual training programme Right after the decision was made public, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing chairman Shafiul Alam Nadel said the Tigress might play their inaugural Test this year. "It's great that the ICC has decided to grant us the Test status," he told the media. "But it'll take some time to schedule our inaugural Test. But we hope to play our first Test this year." Also read: Bangladesh’s women cricketers on a roll Bangladesh all-rounder Rumana Ahmed said, "This is big news for the country. We are now a Test-playing nation in women's cricket. I believe getting the Test status will help Bangladesh women's cricket scale new heights," she said via a video message sent to the media from BCB. With the inclusion of three new teams, the number of women's Test teams has reached 13. The other Test-playing women's teams are – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies and the Netherlands. Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time

Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan reached Kolkata to play the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The T20 cricket league is slated to start on April 9 with the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Also read: Honoured to meet PM Modi: Shakib Shakib left for Kolkata on early Saturday and will represent Kolkata Knight Riders in this season of the IPL. Kolkata will start their campaign with the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11. Shakib had previously won two titles for Kolkata and also played for Sunrisers Hyderabad for two seasons. Overall, the all-rounder played 63 games in the IPL and scored 746 runs and claimed 59 wickets. He has always been one of the best all-rounders of this T20 league. Also read: Shakib's 34th Birthday: 34 achievements to celebrate the no.1 all-rounder The all-rounder missed the last season of the IPL as he was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years, with one year suspended, due to failing to report corrupt approaches made to him. He, however, made a comeback to competitive cricket with the Bangabandhu T20 League last year but failed to impress. He also made a comeback to international cricket with the West Indies series earlier this year but skipped the New Zealand tour to stay with his wife – who gave birth to their third child this month. Also read:  Shakib Al Hasan: What lies ahead after a dispute with BCB? Shakib will also not be a part of Bangladesh's Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series as he is set to participate in this year's IPL. Both the Sri Lanka series and IPL are scheduled to take place at the same time. The all-rounder sparked controversy after choosing not to play Tests in Sri Lanka. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has granted a 48-day leave to him so that he can play the whole season of this year's IPL.

Cricket Australia confirmed on Wednesday that India players were subjected to racial abuse from the crowd during the third test in Sydney and said investigations would continue after six men who were ejected during the match were subsequently cleared.