The players' draft for BPL 2023 took place in a hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday (November 23). Allrounder Mahmudullah Riyad will play for Fortune Barishal in the new season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), and Mushfiuqr Rahim will represent Sylhet Strikers. This year’s BPL is set to start the first week of January 2023. In Barishal, Mahmudullah will get Shakib Al Hasan in the team, and in Sylhet, Mushiqur will play with Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. While Sylhet signed Masrhafe outside the draft, Barishal kept Shakib for the season. Former Bangladesh captains Mohammad Ashraful and Mominul Haque did not get a team in the draft. On draft day, it was unclear if any team would show any interest in them. Read more: 7 local cricketers get direct contracts in 2023 BPL Along with Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Anamul Haque Bijoy, and Ebadot Hossain were roped in by Barishal. Teams after the players' draft for BPL 2023 Comilla Victorians: Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Abrar Ahmed, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Imrul Kayes, Josh Cobb, Ashiqur Zaman, Brandon King, Jaker Ali Anik, Sean Williams, Chadwick Walton, Shykat Ali, Abu Hider Rony, Nayeem Hasan, Mukidul Islam, Mahidul Islam Ankon. Fortune Barishal: Shakib Al Hasan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Usman Qadir, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kesrick Williams, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kusal Perera, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Fazle Rabbi, Haider Ali, Chaturanga de Silva, Saif Hassan, Khaled Ahmed, Qazi Anik, Sanzamul Islam, Salman Hossain. Chattogram Challengers: Afif Hossain, Vishwa Fernando, Ashan Priyanjan, Curtis Campher, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Shuvagata Hom, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Irfan Sukkur, Mehedi Maruf, Ziaur Rahman, Maxwell Patrick, Unmukt Chand, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed Rahi, Farhad Reza, Tawfique Khan Tushar. Dhaka Dominators: Taskin Ahmed, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar, Shoriful Islam, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Al Amin Hossain, Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad, Alok Kapali, Monir Hossain Khan, Ariful Haque, Muktar Ali, Mizanur Rahman, Delwar Hossain, Usman Ghani, Salman Irshad. Khulna Tigers: Tamim Iqbal, Avishka Fernando, Wahab Riaz, Naseem Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Nasum Ahmed, Nahidul Islam, Munim Shahriar, Sabbir Rahman, Dasun Shanaka, Paul Van Meekeren, Shafiqul Islam, Pritom Kumar, Habibur Rahman, Mahmudul Hasan Joy. Read more: BPL 2023: Syhet Strikers ropes in Mashrafe, Amir, Perera Rangpur Riders: Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shoaib Malik, Pathum Nissanka, Sikandar Raza, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Jaffrey Vandersay, Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Naim Sheikh, Rakibul Hasan Jr, Shamim Hossain, Ripon Mondol, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Jones, Rony Talukder, Parvez Hossain Emon, Alauddin Babu. Sylhet Strikers: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Colin Ackermann, Ryan Burl, Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Nabil Samad, Towhid Hridoy, Rubel Hossain, Tom Moores, Chaturanga de Silva, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Islam Apu, Akbar Ali, Mohammad Sharifullah, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. One of the major talking points leading up to the BPL 2023 players' draft was where Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim would play next season. Riyad and Shakib will play together for the Barishal franchise, while Mushfiqur and Mashrafe will be seen playing together for Sylhet. Read More: BPL 2023: What Mashrafe, Perara and Amir can bring to Sylhet Strikers

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiuqr Rahim announced retirement from T20 Internationals. He announced his retirement through his social media page where he also said he would continue playing ODIs and Tests for Bangladesh and T20s at the domestic level.  The decision came after Bangladesh’s shocking exit from the Asia Cup T20 where the Tigers failed to win any match and subsequently were out of the event right from the first round losing to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.  Mushfiqur batted in both matches and failed to impress. He managed to score 1 against Afghanistan and 4 against Sri Lanka. His failure cost the matches for Bangladesh.  “I have been grateful to have you all beside me throughout my long career. Your support has been my inspiration during my highs and lows,” Mushfiqur wrote on his social media. “Today, I am announcing my retirement from T20 Internationals. I will proudly continue to represent Bangladesh in Test and ODI formats. I am hopeful that I can bring success for our nation in these two formats.” Mushfiqur got his T20I cap in 2006 against Zimbabwe. The match was the first-ever T20I for both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Since then, Mushfiqur played 102 T20Is for Bangladesh and scored 1500 runs with six fifties. He was among only the three players who have played at least 100 T20Is for Bangladesh.   Read: Mushfiqur Rahim completes 15 years in international cricket With Mushfiqur now retired, Shakib Al Hasan is now the only Bangladeshi player from Bangladesh’s maiden T20I who is still active in the format at the international level.  The right-handed batter has some wonderful innings in T20Is, but he was never as consistent in T20Is as he is in ODIs and Tests. His best innings in T20Is is an unbeaten 72 off 35 balls against Sri Lanka in Colombo. At the same venue, he scored another unbeaten 72 off 55 balls against India. Both the innings were notched up in 2018.  “I will continue to take part in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and other franchise tournaments. Alhamdulillah. Thank you all. Allah Hafez,” Mushfiuqr added in this retirement announcement.  Mushfiqur also led Bangladesh in 23 T20Is and won eight of them. He was Bangladesh’s captain in two T20 World Cups— in 2012 and in 2014 with the latter was host by Bangladesh.

A recent unbeaten knock of 175 helped Mushfiqur Rahim climb a mountain. He is now the best batter in the world in terms of scoring runs in Tests at the highest average. He has an outstanding average of 58.94 — the highest among the batters who played at least 20 innings since 2020 in Tests. Even batters like Joe Root, Babar Azam and Marnus Labuschagne are behind him.  Also read:Mushfiqur, Liton stand tall after disastrous start

Wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to skip the upcoming West Indies tour of Bangladesh national team. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said the cricketer is on leave to perform hajj. The development put Bangladesh team management into further trouble as they will now have to rethink the batting order. “Mushfiuqr had applied for a leave a month ago to perform hajj. We have accepted it,” Jalal Yunus, chairman of cricket operation of BCB, told the media. Also read: Mushfiqur is first Bangladeshi to score 5,000 Test runs Earlier, allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz was ruled out from the ongoing series against Sri Lanka due to a finger injury. Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed was also out of the team due to an injury. Both of them are uncertain for the West Indies tour. Along with them, left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam and right-arm spinner Nayeem Hasan have also sustained blows during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram. While Shoriful is doubtful for West Indies Tests, Nayeem has already been ruled out from this series. Also read: Mushfiqur, Liton grind Sri Lanka after Tamim’s ton The second Test of the two-match against Sri Lanka will commence on May 23 in Dhaka. Bangladesh team is scheduled to leave for the West Indies on June 5. They will play a two-match Test, three-match ODIs and three-match T20Is against the hosts.

When Mushfiqur Rahim cracked Kyle Jamieson a cut to the off-side for a boundary in Mount Maunganui, most Bangladeshis were fast asleep.  Only two runs were needed to upset World Test Champions New Zealand in their home turf, and Mushfiqur ran into roaring, fisting bumps and hugging non-striker Momiminul Haque as he hit the winning four. The sun had not risen then in Bangladesh, but few did wake up across the country to witness the famous Test win of Bangladesh on TV or mobile screen— undoubtedly the best Test result of Bangladesh so far in 22 years. “It was teamwork. Everyone was keen to win the match and they put their hand up in all three departments,” the Bangladesh Test captain said. “We won because of the bowlers. They were outstanding in both the first and second innings. They did all the hard work and bowled in the right areas. Ebadot was unbelievable to us.” After Ebadot Hossain’s history-making six-wicket haul for 46, it was only a matter of time for Bangladesh to score 40 runs in the fourth innings of the match with a lot of overs were remaining. Despite losing Shadman Islam early, Bangladesh’s win was a cakewalk, and eventually, it came and ended a 32-match drought in New Zealand with eight wickets in hand.  The platform was set by Ebadot in the third session of the fourth day when he ran a riot taking three wickets of New Zealand in quick succession after a boring stand by Will Young and Ross Taylor. After Ebadot removed Young with a wonderful delivery that the latter seemed to not have expected, the floodgate was open and two more wickets came in two successive overs of Ebadot.  Also read: Unfazed by names, I played deliveries, Mahmudul says after his maiden fifty vs NZ

Dhaka, Dec 29 (UNB) — The year started on a hopeful note for Bangladesh as Shakib Al Hasan had returned to international cricket early this year after serving a ban imposed by the ICC for failing to report corrupt approaches by a known bookie. But by the time it ended, supporters of the Tigers were hoping they could forget 2021 as soon as possible. Shakib was the most valuable player immediately upon his return, in the ODI series against the West Indies early this year. It was not the right indicator of what was in store for the remainder of the year. The downhill slide began in the Test series that followed the ODIs against the men from the Caribbean, who were severely depleted yet totally outplayed Bangladesh in both matches on the way to winning 2-0. Bangladesh won 20 international matches across all three formats this year, out of 46 played. Although that makes it their second-best year in terms of matches won, this does not reflect the suffering that Bangladesh went through playing at home or abroad in 2021, and across all three formats really. The poor show in Tests continued all through the year. At the end of the year, the Mominul Haque-led team suffered another 2-0 series defeat at home, this time against Pakistan.

The three-match T20 series between hosts Bangladesh and touring Pakistan begins here Friday (November 19) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur with Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad looking to restore pride lost in the recently concluded World Cup. The match will kick-off at 2 pm (Bangladesh time).  Local fans for the first time will be allowed to witness the match live at the big bowl since the start of the pandemic. Around 50% of tickets against the stadium’s  capacity will available for the fans and most of the tickets are already sold out.  Read:Is Mahmudullah unaware of Mushfiqur’s omission? The second match of the series will be played the very next day (November 20), with the concluding match on November 22 at the same venue.  Before this series, Bangladesh and Pakistan played each other on 12 occasions in the format, with Bangladesh winning only two of them.  When captain Mahmudullah Riyad was asked a question regarding the failure of Bangladesh in T20 World Cup at a pre-match press conference on Thursday, he appeared to be annoyed. But the Bangladesh T20I captain softly replied that he is not willing to talk more about the World Cup. It’s understandable why the Bangladesh captain is so annoyed to talk about the just-concluded World Cup— they lost six out of eight matches they played, including all five in the Super 12s phase, at the biggest stage of T20 cricket.  Bangladesh’s defeat against Scotland in the very first match of their World Cup campaign was difficult to accept for most cricket fans. They lost two warm-up matches right before the World Cup, so they needed some time to get themselves up for the main event.  But when they won their next two matches against Oman and Papua New Guinea to qualify for the Super 12s phase of the World Cup, expectations were high and the Tigers failed miserably to deliver.  “I don’t want to talk about the World Cup, we rather are focusing on the next match and on this series. It’s more important to me how much we can contribute to the team in this contest than thinking about the World Cup. Pakistan are one of the best teams in the world, so this series is going to be a tough one,” Mahmudullah said Thursday at the pre-match press conference.  Read:BAN vs PAK Series 2021: Spectators set to return to the stadium in the Pakistan Series In the mission to restore pride, Bangladesh are going to miss the services of Mushfiqur Rahim, who has always been one of Bangladesh’s mainstays in the batting line. He failed to shine in the World Cup— scoring only 144 runs in eight matches with five single-digit scores.  Mushfiqur’s omission came as a surprise to many including the wicketkeeper-batter himself. Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that he was rested as they want him fresh for the busy Test schedule awaiting in the coming months.  “We want Mushfiq to deliver his best in the Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand,” Minhajul told the media after announcing a new-look Bangladesh T20 squad for the Pakistan series. “We have to play successive four Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand. We want Mushfiqur to be fresh for these matches, and Tamim (Iqbal) is suffering from an injury and his participation is uncertain in these Tests. In this situation, Mushfiqur is so important for us, and this is why he was rested.” Minhajul has claimed that to make the decision of leaving out Mushfiqur, the selection panel had reflected the thought process of the team management— a claim that Mushfiqur refused publicly in interviews with the local media.  The right-handed batter said the team management didn’t talk to him about his rest. He said he is taking this move as his first omission from the team in many years, and he also added it’s a challenge for him to prove his mettle in this format. 

Bangladesh T20I captain Mahmudullah Riyad left everyone stunned in a pre-series press conference on Thursday when he advised a reporter to contact the team management about Mushfiqur Rahim’s omission. Bangladesh are all set to take on Pakistan in a three-match T20I and two-match Test series beginning on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) left out Mushfiqur for this series.  Read:BAN vs PAK Series 2021: Spectators set to return to the stadium in the Pakistan Series Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector at BCB, said Mushfqur is rested as the Tigers are set to play a lot of longer version cricket in the coming days, and Mushfqiur’s performance is important in those matches.  Mushfiqur, however, denied that he was rested while talking to a few media outlets. He rather said the selector did not contact him and said anything about resting him. Mushfiqur also said he is taking this move as his first omission from the team in many years.  “I think it would be good if you ask this question to some from the team management,” Mahmudllah replied to a question regarding Mushfiqur’s omission. “The decision (of omitting Mushfiqur) came from the team management. I’m not willing to say anything about this, but it’s true that we are going to miss him.” Mushfiqur struggled throughout the just-concluded T20 World Cup where played eight matches and scored only 144 runs with the best of 57 not out. He failed to reach a double-digit score in five matches.  Along with Mushfiqur, Bangladesh omitted Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das as well. Soumya scored 27 runs in four matches, and Liton scored 133 in eight matches. Bangladesh captain, however, said he is not bothered much about what happened in the World Cup.  “I don’t want to talk about the World Cup, we rather are focusing on the next match and on this series. It’s more important to me how much we can contribute to the team in this contest than thinking about the World Cup. Pakistan are one of the best teams in the world, so this series is going to be a tough one,” Mahmudullah said. Read:Cricket returns to Bangladeshi fans: Tickets go on sale on Thursday Schedule: November 19, first T20I at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka at 2pm. November 20, second T20I at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka at 2pm.November 22, third T20I at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka at 2pm. November 26-30, first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, ChattogramDecember 4-8, second Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Bangladesh squad for T20I series:  Bangladesh squad for Pakistan T20Is: Mohammad Naeem, Saif Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Yasir Ali Rabbi, Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan (wicketeeper), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mohammad Shohidul Islam and Akbar Ali (wicketkeeper)

Mushfiqur Rahim's decision to give up the wicketkeeper's gloves in T20I cricket is the correct one in every sense, and should leave no room for speculation on emotional moorings. If anything, a case could be made that he should have probably done it earlier, as other wicketkeeper-batsmen have done, in order to allow themselves to fulfil their potential as batsmen.  Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Andy Flower of Zimbabwe, two of the modern greats of batting, are the recent examples that spring to mind. Both made the move much earlier in their careers. Although Mushy, as he is lovingly known to fans and teammates, has in fact tried this in some Test matches in the past, he has never been firm on seeing himself as a specialist batsman, and eventually gone back to keeping as well. That perhaps is the difference this time. He has communicated the decision to coach Russell Domingo, and it was from the South African that we learned of his decision to leave the wicketkeeping job in T20Is. Of course, having someone like Nurul Hasan Sohan ready and by now almost established to take over the job in the shortest format would have made a decision like this easier for everyone involved. The decision to declare his intention to the coach may also have been prompted by the needless speculation arising in the media from Sohan donning the keeping gloves while both were in the playing XI during the first three games of the current T20I series versus New Zealand. The speculation was needlessly spread as it should have been quite obvious that when both of them are playing, only Mushfiqur merits his place as a specialist batsman. While Sohan is indeed the slickest Bangladeshi behind the stumps right now (there is even a third option in Liton Das). Mushfiq's decision can also help in grooming the 27-year-old Sohan as the country's number one wicketkeeper across all three formats eventually. Regular appearances in the T20I format can eventually help him to make the step up and establish himself in ODIs and Tests as well. If that happens, Mushfiq, who is 34, might even manage to squeeze an extra couple of years into his career, before the time comes for him to retire. The only justification for the surprise, almost shock, that has greeted the news of Mushy's decision, is that although this has been suggested before to allow him to blossom as a top-notch batsman in the No.4 position for Bangladesh (in whichever format), Mushfiq himself has been reluctant. The first few times that he did it in Tests, the results were not as rewarding as had been hoped, and soon enough Mushfiq was back to keeping as well, determined to contribute as much as he can in as many ways as he can. That has been the hallmark of his 16-year international career, during which Mushfiqur has kept wickets in 350 of his 391 international appearances across all three formats. READ: BAN vs. NZ 2021: Fourth Match Preview While playing as a specialist batsman didn't quite yield the desired results for Mushfiqur in Test cricket, it is a very different story in both the limited-overs formats, i.e. both 20/50 overs. In both, Mushfiq’s batting average in the games where he has not kept wickets is already higher than his career average. In 14 such ODIs, when he was not a keeper, Mushfiq's batting average of 49.18 comfortably outstrips a career average of 37.18.On the other hand, in seven T20Is that he played as a specialist batsman, Mushy has an average of 23.50— against a career batting average of 20.27 in T20Is.  Based on these indicators, Bangladesh cricket followers should be encouraged that the ndecision may indeed turn out to be a wise one. The move has also possibly spared coach Domingo's blushes. As already stated, no Bangladeshi is as good and efficient (and even vocal, as the chatter picked up by the stump mic at the Sher-e- Bangla has shown) in the thankless wicketkeeper's job as Nurul Hasan Sohan right now. Yet the shared wicketkeeping duties between him and Mushfiqur that Domingo suggested to the press before the New Zealand series, would potentially mean there would be a couple of games where Sohan would be picked as a specialist batsman. It's difficult to see how that would've happened though, as Sohan simply doesn't merit selection in the playing XI unless he is keeping wickets. He has never yet shown the promise of a specialist batsman at international level. "Initially, after speaking to Mushy, he was going to keep after the second game. But he told me he probably doesn’t want to keep the wickets in T20s anymore, so we have to move on,” Domingo said after the third match of the series against the visiting Kiwis. So it had all worked out neatly for the team that selects the playing XI for each game, of which the coach is a part. Mushfiq's decision helped them avoid the potential selection debacle of Sohan playing as a specialist bat. Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud Pilot, the man from whom Mushy inherited the Tigers' wicketkeeping job, rightfully dismissed all the talk about Mushy's dexcision being driven by emotion.“You have to make some crucial decisions for the sake of the team,” Mashud said in a video message posted on his social media profile.  “Many are saying that it’s an emotional decision by Mushfiq. I don't think so. For the bigger interest of the team, the coaches, and the captain, players often make such decisions. Everyone should welcome the change,” Mashud further said.He did add the caveat that if in fact it was an emotional decision on Mushfiqur's part, everything changes and the board must step in to remedy the situation.  Former captain Mohammad Ashraful in his reaction hit the nail on the head, saying the decision by Mushfiq to leave the wicketkeeping role is likely to improve his batting performance exponentially. READ: Mushfiqur opts to quit wicket-keeping in T20Is: Domingo  “We will now expect more from Mushfiq as a batsman,” Ashraful said on his social media channel. “He was a specialist batsman when he got his maiden Test cap. Mushfiq left wicketkeeping in Tests for a while now. I think he will now be able to focus on his batting more and do well as a batsman.”Ashraful also welcomed the decision to give the glovework to Sohan, who he too considers Bangladesh’s best wicketkeeper. 

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is set to miss next month's five-match T20 home series against Australia over strict isolation norms. As per the conditions set by Cricket Australia, every Bangladeshi cricketer needs to be quarantined for at least 14 days ahead of the T20 series. Mushfiqur missed this isolation deadline even after coming back without playing the ODI series in Zimbabwe. Mushfiqur flew back home from Harare on July 14 after coming to know that his parents had contracted Covid-19. To fulfil the requirement of the 14-day mandatory quarantine before the series, Mushfiqur needed to isolate himself by July 20, but he missed the deadline due to family commitments. Also read: Tamim to miss home series against Australia, New Zealand Mushfiqur wanted to isolate himself on July 22, but the operations committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) told him that "it won’t work now".  “Mushfiqur wanted to play the series, but he missed the deadline by two days,” Akram Khan, the chair of cricket operations of BCB, told the media. “A specific quarantine period is in our agreement with Cricket Australia. So, we cannot include Mushfiqur now. We talked to them, but they did not agree." The first match of the series will take place on August 3, while the other matches will be played on August 4, 6, 7 and 9. All the matches will take place at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. Also read: Australia’s August tour of Bangladesh 'on'