Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday announced the 15-member Bangladesh team for T20 World Cup 2022, to be held late October in Australia. Bangladesh overlooked Mahmudullah Riyad for the T20 World Cup. “Mahmudullah did very well for Bangladesh, but looking at the future, he is not part of our future plan,” Minhazul Abedin, the chief selector told media. “The decision was taken after discussion with all involving parties — selectors, coaches and the board. Read:Bangladesh’s new target is 2024 T20 World Cup, says Nazmul Minhazul also said the new T20 consultant Sridharan Sriram set a plan for the future for Bangladesh team and that has no space for Mahmudullah. Mahmudullah has been going through a bad patch for a while now. The allrounder failed to impress in the Asia Cup. Before that, he failed to do well in Zimbabwe and West Indies tours as well. Bangladesh will miss the service of seniors like Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal as both have retired from the format recently. With being overlooked from the T20I squad, Mahmudullah’s T20I career has unofficially ended. “Everyone has a chance to play for Bangladesh,” Habibul Bashar, the former captain and current selector said. But it’s clear, Mahmudullah’s career in the shortest format of the game has ended. Sabbir Rahman, the top-order batter, has been added to the team, but Soumya Sarkar, who was in discussion, has been overlooked. Bangladesh, however, added Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has no impressive performance in the format. “Najmul has been added to the squad after discussion with the captain, and coaching staff,” Minhajul said. Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh will take part in a tri-series T20 in New Zealand which also involves Pakistan. The tri-series will begin on October 7 at Christchurch. Bangladesh will play five matches in the Super 12s round of the World Cup in Group 2. They will have India, Pakistan, South Africa and two teams from the T20 World Cup qualifiers.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named top order batter Afif Hossain as the vice captain of Bangladesh cricket team for the Asia Cup 2022 now underway in the UAE. The 22-year old left-hander has played 47 T20 internationals for Bangladesh since making his debut in February 2018. This is the first time when Afif is taking a leadership role in the Bangladesh team. He was among the best players in the world during his U19 cricketing days. Read:Asia Cup: Afghanistan make flying start beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in opener Shakib Al Hasan is set to lead Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. He was handed the captaincy just before the Asia Cup. During the tour of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh's T20 captain was Nurul Hasan Sohan. Ho suffered an injury on his finger that ruled him out of the Asia Cup too. Bangladesh’s Asia Cup will begin with the match against Afghanistan on August 30. In the second match, Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka who lost their first match to Afghanistan by eight wickets on the opening day Saturday.

Left-handed top-order batter Mominul Haque may lose the captaincy of the Bangladesh Test team. The batter has been failing to impress both as a captain and as the batter, and it cast a shadow over his captaincy future.  The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has recently asked Mominul to give a think about whether he wants to continue as the captain of the Bangladesh Test team.  Also read:Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Test Series 2022: Five Key Discussion Points “He needs to decide what is thebest for him,” Jalal Yunus, chairman of the cricket operation department of BCB, told the media recently. “When don’t get run as a captain and batter, the pressure gets heavier.” Bangladesh failed to win any match in the recently-concluded two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home. They ended the first match in a draw in Chattogram and in the second match, they endured a 10-wicket defeat in Dhaka.  This series was a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. After this recent failure, Mominul’s captaincy came under scrutiny once again.  However, Russell Domingo, the head coach of the national team, said that he would like to rely on Mominul’s captaincy more. But he agreed that Mominul has been out of the form for a while, and he has to work harder to get his old form back.  Mominul got only a fifty in his last 15 Test innings, and in 12 of those innings, he failed to reach a double-digit total.  Bangladesh played a total of 17 Tests under the captaincy of Mominul and won only three of them. Bangladesh lost 12 of the other matches with only two draws.  After the series against Sri Lanka, BCB president Nazmul Hasan had a meeting with Mominul. It was not clear what they have discussed in that meeting. But the inside sources of BCB told that the meeting was about the future of Mominul as Bangladesh’s Test captain.  Bangladesh’s next international assignment is in West Indies. The board has already announced the squads for this tour. Mominul is named the captain of the Test team.  Also read:Dhaka Test: Bangladesh capitulate as Sri Lanka win series But BCB might rethink this decision. Some TV reports suggested that the board might ask the start allrounder Shakib Al Hasan to take over the Test captaincy— who Mominul replaced in 2019 when Shakib was banned due to not reporting corrupt approaches made to him.  If Mominul remains the captain in the West Indies series, it would be an ordeal for him-- a failure will surely be enough to axe him from his position. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the first Test of the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. Shakib Al Hasan, who missed the last series due to family reasons, has been included in this series. However, left-handed opener Sadman Islam is overlooked due to his off-form. Also read:DPL Super League: Sheikh Jamal secure top spot, Abahani suffer 2nd defeat Left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam has also been included in the team but his participation is subjected to his fitness. Along with him, uncapped pacer Rejaur Rahman Raja is also in the squad. The first Test of the series will take place in Chattogram from May 15 while the second Test will be played in Dhaka from May 23. This series is part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship. Bangladesh played six matches so far and won only one in New Zealand— their first in New Zealand as well. Also read:Sheikh Jamal, Legends of Rupganj in Pole Position to Win DPL 2022 Bangladesh squad: Mominul Haque (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Yasir Ali, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shohidul Islam, Shoriful Islam (subject to fitness).

Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is all set  to skip the South Africa tour, confirmed Jalal Yunus, the chairman of the cricket operation department of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). “I have talked to Shakib today and asked about his plan. He said he is unfit mentally and physically. He is reluctant to tour to South Africa,” Jalal told the media on Wednesday. Read: BCB can't run after Shakib: Khaled Mahmud He also said the board has decided to Shakib until the end of April.  “I along with the board president, CEO and other board directors decided to rest him as he has been suffering from mental and physical fatigue. He will now be out of all forms of cricket,” Jalal added.  It means the all-rounder might be available for the Dhaka Premier Divison Cricket League. Shakib is supposed to play for Mohammedan Sporting Club in this 50-over event in Dhaka.  “He told the media that he is not mentally fit to play now. Now can you force someone to play who is not fit? We had told him to take a few days to think more. He now told us that he is not set to play,” Jalal added.  BCB has recently announced two squads for the tour of South Africa where Bangladesh are scheduled to play a three-match ODI and two-match Test series. Shakib was part of the squads.  Read: Is Shakib Al Hasan Considering Retirement? However, on Sunday, Shakib said he is not in a condition to play international cricket at the moment due to mental and physical fatigue.   At the same time, the 34-year-old all-rounder said he likes to focus more on white-ball cricket instead of red-ball cricket.  It’s not clear if Shakib will nbe available for all formats after this hiatus. “He will return home tomorrow (Thursday) from the UAE. After that, he wants to sit with the board to discuss further his future plan,” Jalal added.  This is not the first time Shakib is skipping a foreign tour. Earlier, he skipped the Test series in South Africa in 2017. He also skipped the last two tours to New Zealand, and he also skipped a series against Sri Lanka to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  Khaled Mahmud, the former captain of Bangladesh and the current board director, has recently said the senior players like Shakib, Mushfiqur (Rahim), Tamim (Iqbal), and Mahmudullah (Riyad) are at the end of their career, so the board should introduce new faces who could serve the nation for a longer time.  “We have to accept this truth,” he told the media on Tuesday. “If Shakib doesn't want to play, the board doesn't care about it. We have to bring new players to the fore.”

The Afghanistan cricket team, now in Bangladesh for a three-match ODI and two-match T20 series, has been hit hard by Covid-19, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) physician has confirmed to the media.  The Afghan team arrived in Bangladesh early this week. They are conducting a camp in Sylhet under the observation of the Afghanistan Cricket Board.  Read:BAN vs AFG 2022: BCB Announced ODI Squad for Afghanistan Series “Sseveral members of Afghanistan team have tested positive for Covid-19,” Monjur Chowdhury, a BCB physician told the media. “But we cannot disclose any further details about the matter. The tour will officially start on February 19. We can only say further after that.” The ODIs of this series will take place in Chattogram on February 23, 25 and 28 before the T20 series taking place in Dhaka on March 3 and 5.  Afghanistan’s last Bangladesh tour was in 2019 when they beat the hosts in Chattogram in their first Test.   Overall, Bangladesh and Afghanistan took on each other in 15 matches with Afghaitnain winning eight, and Bangladesh winning seven.  It’s going to be Afghanistan’s first tour to Bangladesh after the Taliban took over the country last August. Taliban banned many sports in Afghanistan, but they allowed cricket.  Meanwhile, Bangladesh have announced the ODI squad for this series on Monday, which includes four uncapped players.  Read:Four uncapped players called up to Bangladesh ODI team vs Afghanistan Afghanistan ODI squad : Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Shahid Kamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmat Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Farid Ahmad Malik Travelling reserves: Qais Ahmad, Salim Safi Afghanistan T20I squad: Mohammad Nabi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nijat Masood, Farid Ahmad Malik

The play-off phase of the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to begin from Monday when the Eliminator and the first Qualifier matches will take place in Mirpur. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said a small number of spectators will be allowed to enjoy these matches live from the gallery of the stadium. Read: BPL 2022 Qualifier 1: Fortune Barishal vs Comilla Victorians Preview, Team News Due to the recent surge of the new strain of Covid-19, the authority had decided against allowing the spectators to enter the stadium to curb the spread of the virus. But the new decision came as the cases of the virus started declining in recent days. According to the media wing of BCB, only a few thousand spectators will be allowed and they will get the tickets from the participating teams.  “The spectators will get the tickets from the participating teams,” Tanvir Ahmed, the chairman of the media department of BCB, told the media on Sunday. “Only three to four thousand spectators will be allowed to enter the stadium, and they will have to maintain the social distance and show the certificates of vaccination in order to be allowed to the stadium,” he said. Read: BPL 2022 Playoffs: Qualified Teams, Match Schedules BCB has initially thought to sell tickets in a conventional way, but that could trigger people to come out in crowds for tickets and spread the virus. Keeping it in mind, BCB opted to provide tickets to the teams so that they can give those to their fans and other stakeholders.  Tanvir has also added that the number of spectators might increase during the home series against Afghanistan if the virus situation improves. The three-match ODI and two-match T20I series against Afghanistan will be held in Chattogram and Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been hit by the latest outbreak of the Covid pandemic, as "several players and staff" are down with the virus, according to the chief physician of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). For the last two days, some players took part in individual or unofficial practice sessions at the BCB Academy. None of them was part of the team bio-bubble as it's yet to come into effect. Read: BPL: Chattogram Challengers unveil their jersey “A few players and staff members have tested positive for Covid-19,” Debashis Chowdhury, the chief physician of BCB, told the media on Tuesday. “Most of the players are scheduled to give their specimen on Tuesday, and we will see how many return positive.” He, however, did not disclose the names of the players or teams down with Covid. The players who will return negative will join their respective team's bio-bubble, and those who test positive will need to maintain isolation, Debashis added.  This year’s BPL has been rebranded as the Bangabandhu BPL to celebrate the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.  The first match of the BPL will take place on January 21 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.  A total of six teams are taking part in this year’s BPL, which will be played in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.  Read: BPL 2022: 3 days to go, but no official preparation by the teams as yet With only three days to go, no team started their official preparations. But they are expected to do so by Wednesday.  Many foreign recruits are already in Dhaka, and many are scheduled to reach the capital soon. Some members of the foreign coaching staff have already reached Dhaka and joined their respective teams too. 

Bangladesh pace-bowling coach Ottis Gibson will step down from his post once his contract expires this month-end, a top cricket board official said on Thursday. Replacing South African pace-bowling coach Charl Langeveldt, Gibson was appointed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in January 2020 for a two-year term. Read:BPL 2022 Live Streaming: Where to Watch the Most Anticipated Domestic Cricket Matches? Gibson has already informed the board that he's not interested to get his contract renewed, according to Jalal Yunus, the chairman of cricket operations of BCB. "We have to find a new pace-bowling coach. We are already on the job to find someone who can take over his role," Jalal told the media at Sylhet International Stadium. Before joining Bangladesh, Gibson worked as the head coach of South Africa and the West Indies. He was also the bowling coach of England. Bangladesh recently played a two-match Test series against New Zealand, which was a draw. Read:U-19 World Cup: Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 155 runs in lone warm up match In the first Test, Bangladesh beat the Kiwis by eight wickets, which was Bangladesh’s first-ever win on the soil of New Zealand. Ebadot Hossain, the right-handed pacer, had played the main role for Bangladesh. At the end of the match, Ebadot had said he was improving as a pacer under the supervision of the former West Indian pacer Gibson.

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal and former captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza have been roped in by Dhaka for the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier League (BPL) which is set to be played from January 21 in three venues in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.  A total of six teams are taking part in the new season of BPL. Five of them are sponsored by local business groups while one, Dhaka, is sponsored by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).  Read:Soumya hits a ton as BCL 3rd round gets underway Ismail Haider Mallick, the member secretary of BPL, said, at the start of the player draft on Monday at a hotel in Dhaka, that the Dhaka team is owned by BCB for now. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no BPL was held in 2020 and 2021.  The other teams that are taking place in this season of BPL are based on Fortune Barishal, Cumilla Victorians, Chattogram Challengers, Khulna Tigers and Sylhet Sunrisers.