After a disastrous outing in the Asia Cup T20, the Bangladesh national team is now preparing for the T20 World Cup that will begin late October in Australia. Ahead of announcing the squad for the World Cup, Nazmul Hasan, the BCB boss, said they are targeting the next T20 World Cup after the upcoming one to do well as a T20 team.  Bangladesh recruited a T20 consultant, Sridharan Sriram, who played the role of the head coach instead of the head coach Russell Domingo during the Asia Cup. But the Tigers failed to do well.  “What we are doing now is not for this World Cup,” Nazmul told the reporters on Tuesday. “We have to target the World Cup after it. There is no coach who can change everything in a day. So we have to accept it.” Read: Bangladesh to announce World Cup squad Wednesday He also said that Bangladesh would go through some changes and experiments in the next few months aiming to form a strong T20 team and that may result in many ups and downs.  “We have to have a long-term plan, and we are targeting the next T20 World Cup. We have to see some unexpected results in the process and we have to accept it,” Nazmul said.  Nazmul also said that he is not sure if Mahmudullah Riyad will make it to the Bangladesh squad for the World Cup.  After Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah is the most senior cricketer in the Bangladesh team. The allrounder has been going through a bad patch in the T20 format. He has already retired from Test.  “Mahmudullah won many matches for us,” Nazmul said. “We have to respect him. If we cannot make a place for him in the team, we have to respect him (by giving him a chance to retire from the field). I’m not sure if he is in our World Cup team. I can only be confirmed if the selectors inform me.”

President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nazmul Hasan on Wednesday said that it’s Bangladesh’s misfortune not to get the service of allrounder Shakib Al Hasan when the team needs him most.  Bangladesh are all set to take on Sri Lanka at home for a two-match Test series starting from May 15 in Chattogram.  Shakib will miss this series as he tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, and currently, he is isolated at home.  It’s not clear whether BCB would call a replacement for Shakib.  Before the left-handed allrounder, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was also ruled out of this series due to a finger injury that he has sustained during a Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match. To replace Mehidy, BCB called right-arm spinner Nayeeh Hasan to the Test squad.  READ: Shakib tests positive for Covid-19 “It’s our misfortune,” Nazmul told reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday. “We pray for his quick recovery. Despite being positive for Covid-19, Shakib is doing well. He will test again in a few days.” Shakib had to leave the team ahead of the Test series in South Africa— Bangladesh’s last series so far— due to a family emergency. He had earlier missed a few Test series due to injury, and personal reasons.  “We have to play one bowler or one batter less,” Nazmul added. “It’s a problem. But we have no choice now. We need him most we don’t get his service. The only thing we can do now is to pray for his quick recovery and hope that he would join the team quickly.” Earlier this year, Nazmul had said they have no idea when Shakib wants to play and when he wants to skip.  The upcoming series is a part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. Bangladesh played six matches in this event so far and won one of them against New Zealand.  While the first Test will be played in Chattogram, the second and final of this series will take part in Dhaka from May 23. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon on Saturday said the 3rd and final phase of the Pakistan tour of Bangladesh National cricket team is now very tough due to spread of coronavirus globally.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCBL) president Nazmul Hassan said it’s painful to lose the way Bangladesh were defeated in the first Test of the two-match series in Pakistan by an innings and 44 runs in Rawalpindi on Monday.