Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has stoked a fresh controversy for breaching Covid-19 protocols on the eve of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) finals. A day before Friday's finals at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, the skipper of BPL team Fortune Barishal was snapped shooting for a TV commercial directed by ad guru Amitabh Reza Chowdhury.  Earlier on Thursday, he skipped the team's practice match against Comilla Victorians. Sabbir Khan, the manager of Barishal, had attributed his absence to “stomach ache”.  Also read: BPL 2022 final: Can Shakib guide Barishal to maiden title UNB received some images of Shakib shooting for the commercial wearing a yellow polo shirt. Hours later, Shakib also posted a teaser on his social media handle wearing the same shirt.

Despite getting so close, Khulna Tigers fell short of seven runs against Chattogram Challengers, and they have been eliminated from the race.  On Monday, Chattogram set a tough target of 190 runs. Khulna failed to chase it down at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the Eliminator match of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).  Chattogram will now take on the loser of the first Qualifier between Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians.  Also read: BPL 2022: Chattogram post 189 in Eliminator vs Khulna While chasing, Khulna lost Mahedi Hasan and Soumya Sarkar early. Mahedi posted two, and Soumya continued on a prolonged bad patch scoring only one. In the first 4.1 overs, Khulna’s total passed 40 runs for two wickets. In the third wicket stand, Khulna added 64 runs riding on the solid stand by Andre Fletcher and Mushfiqur Rahim. They guided Khulna to get close to beating Chattogram.  But while facing a flatter delivery from Mahidy Hasan, who got the ball in that over after long discussion among the senior players of Chattogram, and Musfhiqur went for a late cut but only managed an edge to the wicketkeeper Akbar Ali who did the rest to remove well-set Mushfiqur for 43 off 29 with one four and four sixes.  Mushfiqur’s dismissal came as a huge setback for Khulna, but Yasir Ali kept guiding his team with some big shots off Mrittunjoy Chowdhury.  Off the last 12 balls, Khulna needed 24 runs, and the target came down to 18 runs off the last 11 after Yasir hitting a six off Shoriful Islam. But off the next ball, Yasir was removed by the same bowler. Khulna never were able to seal the match as Mehidy defended 16 in the last over.  Andre Fletcher remained not-out for 80 off 58 balls with six fours and four sixes while scoring 45 off 24 deliveries.  For Chattogram, Mehidy bagged two wickets while Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful and Mrittunjoy took one wicket each.  Earlier, Chattogram posted a challenging total of 189 for 5 in 20 overs. Chadwick Walton hit an unbeaten 89 with seven fours and as many as sixes while Kennar Lewis and Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 39 and 36 respectively for Chattogram. They lost Zakir Hasan and Afif Hossain early, but the other batter displayed some decent cricket to post a big total.  For Khulna, Khaled Ahmed bagged two wickets while Nabil Samad, Ruyel Miah and Mahedi Hasan took one wicket each.  Also read:Galleries to open for BPL play-offs, but not for all The winner of this match will advance to the second Qualifier and will take on the loser of the first Qualifier which will be played between Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians this evening. And the loser of this match will be eliminated from the race.  BCB has allowed a small number of spectators in the play-off phase which included a total of four matches.  The final of this year’s BPL will take place on February 18 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Khulna Tigers beat Sylhet Sunriser by nine wickets in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Thursday in Dhaka. With this match, Khulna’s sixth in the event, the BPL resumed in Dhaka after an eight-match leg in Chattogram. Khulna had started this year’s BPL with a win over Minister Group Dhaka, but since they have been going through a checkered time. They have two wins in the first three matches, but they lost two matches on the trot before Thursday’s win. Mushfiqur Rahim-led Khulna won the toss and sent Sunrisers to bat first who posted 142 for five in 20 overs riding on the 51-ball 72 by Mohammad Mithun with six fours and four sixes. Also read:BPL 2022 Phase 3 Preview: What You Need to Know Sunrisers captain Mosaddek Hossain also did well with the bat scoring 34 off 30. However, the other batters of the Sunirers failed to reach even a double-digit score. For Khulna, Khaled Ahmed bagged two wickets while Nabil Samad, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Soumya Sarkar scalped a wicket each. In reply, Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar came up with a 99-run opening stand and made it easy for Khulna to complete the remaining task to register their biggest win of the season. While Soumya failed for 43 off 31 deliveries, his highest in the season, Fletcher remained unbeaten on 71 off 47 balls with five fours and five sixes. Thisara Perera also remained unbeaten on 22 off 9 balls. The Sri Lankan allrounder hit three fours and one six. Also read: BPL 2022: Barishal jump to top beating Chattogram With the fourth defeat in five matches, the Sunrisers are now at the bottom of the table. It would be tough for them to stay in the race if they suffer more defeats in the next two matches. In their next match, the Sunrisers will take on Fortune Barishal on February 4 in Mirpur while Khulna will take on the Sunrisers again in their next match on February 7 in Sylhet.

Despite some late blows by the Khulna Tigers batters, Fortune Barishal picked up their third win in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday in Chattogram.  Khulna needed to score 146 to win the match, but they ended up on 139 and lost the match by six runs. With this win, Barishal secured a total of six points from three wins in five matches they’ve played so far.  Barishal won the toss in this match and opted to bat first— unlike the other matches when captains opted to bowl first after winning the tosses.  also read: BPL 2022: Victorians continue on winning-streak Despite losing three wickets in just 24 runs, Barishal posted 145 for all wickets in 18.5 overs. In the fourth wicket stand, Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto posted 79 runs on the board. Riding on this stand, Barishal managed to set a challenging total. Shakib scored 41 while Shanto added 45 in the fourth wicket stand for Barishal.  Khaled Ahmed bagged three for Khulna Tigers while Kamrul Islam and Farhad Reza took two wickets each.  In reply, Yasir Ali and Mushfiuqr Rahim scored 57 not out and 33 respectively but their effort went in vain as the top-order failed to provide a good start.  Also read: BPL 2022: Competition among six teams gets heated up in Phase 2 Khulna needed 36 runs in the last two overs which came down to 15 in the last over, but Khulna batters failed to achieve that.  For Barishal, Dwayne Bravo took three wickets conceding 40 runs in four overs while Shakib took two wickets conceding only 10 runs in four overs. Shakib won the player of the match award for his allround show. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman did not get any wicket, but he was excellent with the ball as he conceded only 13 runs in four overs.  Khulna now have four points from two wins in five matches they’ve played till the date.  In their next match, Khulna will take on Sylhet Sunrisers on February 3 while Barishal will lock the horns with Chattogram Challengers on February 1. 

With three convincing wins in as many games the Comilla Victorians continued to dominate the ongoing season of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).  In their latest match on Monday, the Victorians beat Chattogram Challengers by a big margin of 52 runs riding on wonderful batting shows by Liton Das, Faf du Plessis, and Cameron Delport, and disciplined bowling from Nahidul Islam and Mustafizur Rahman.  Before this match, Comilla won their first two matches against Sylhet Sunrisers and Fortune Barishal.  Also read: BPL 2022: Competition among six teams gets heated up in Phase 2 On Monday, Chattogram won the toss and sent Comilla to bat first who posted a challenging total of 183 for three wickets in 20 overs. They lost Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the second over, but in the second wicket stand, Liton and Faf du Pless added 80 runs to lay down a solid foundation for them.  Liton fell for 47 in his first appearance in this year’s BPL, but Faf was firm at the other end of the wicket. Imrul Kayes failed to impress with the bat as the left-hander returned only with a run.  In the fourth wicket stand, Faf and Cameron posted 97 runs to set a tough target for Chattogram who had two wins in five matches they had played before this match.  For Chattogram, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed scalped two wickets.  Also read: BPL 2022: Mrittunjoy’s hat-trick puts Chattogram on top In reply, Chattogram never were able to pose a threat to the Victorians. They lost the opener, Kennar Lewis, in the first over only for four runs, and in the second over, they lost Afif Hossain as well. Inside 39 runs, they lost Sabbir Rahman.  Two of their first three wickets fell prey to Nahidul who ended up taking three wickets conceding 17 runs in four overs.  Opener Will Jacks was leading the Challengers with the bat, but his effort went in vain as they tumbled for 131 all out in 17.3 overs. Jacks ended up on 69 off 42 balls.  While Nahidul took three, Mustafizur bagged two wickets conceding 26 in three overs.  Victorians will take on Minister Group Dhaka on February 1 while the Challengers will play Fortune Barishal on the same day. Both the matches will take place in Chattogram. 

The new season of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is just around the corner. The draft of this season has taken place on Monday at a hotel in Dhaka. A total of six teams will take part in this year’s BPL, and the matches will be played in three venues across Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet. BPL will kick off on January 21 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The participating teams had a good chance to sign one local and three international players directly. The teams have grabbed the chance well. Also raed: Tamim, Mashrafe roped in by Dhaka for BPL 2022 Some notable local players failed to draw the attention of the teams. Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful remained unpicked along with allrounder Nasir Hossain and legspinner Aminul Islam. Here are the post-draft teams: Chattogram Challengers: Shoriful Islam, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mukidul Islam Mugdho, Chadwick Walton, Rayad Emrit, Rezaur Raja, Sabbir Rahman, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Akbar Ali, Naeem Islam, and Direct Signings: Nasum Ahmed, Benny Howell, Kennar Lewis, Will Jacks. Cumilla Victorians: Liton Das, Shohidul Islam, Imrul Kayes, Tanvir Islam, Kusal Mendis, Oshane Thomas, Ariful Haque, Nahidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Sumon Khan, Mominul Haque, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Parvez Hossain Emon, Abu Hider Rony, Mehedi Hasan Rana, and Direct Signings: Mustafizur Rahman, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Sunil Narine. Dhaka: Tamim Iqbal, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shuvagata Hom, Mohammad Shahzad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Naim, Arafat Sunny, Imranuzzaman, Shafiul Islam, Jahurul Islam, Shamsur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, and Direct Signing: Mahmudullah Riyad, Isuru Udana, Najibullah Zadran and Qais Ahmad. Also raed: Six-team Bangabandhu BPL kicks off on January 21 Fortune Barishal: Nurul Hasan Sohan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Fazle Mahmud, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Towhid Hridoy, Ziaur Rahman, Shafiqul Islam, Shykat Ali, Niroshan Dickwella, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Salman Hossain, Irfan Sukkur, and Direct Signing: Shakib Al Hasan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Dhanush Gunathilaka and Chris Gayle. Khulna Tigers: Mahedi Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Yasir Ali, Seekkuge Prasanna, Sikandar Raza, Farhad Reza, Rony Talukdar, Khaled Ahmed, Jaker Ali, Nabil Samad, and Direct Signings: Mushfiqur Rahim, Thisara Perera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Naveen-ul-Haq Sylhet Sunrisers: Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Al-Amin Hossain, Nazmul Islam Apu, Ravi Bopara, Angelo Perera, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shohag Gazi, Alok Kapali, Muktar Ali, Shiraz Ahmed, Mizanur Rahman, Nadir Chowdhury, Jubair Hossain Likhon, Shafiul Hayat Ridoy, Sunzamul Islam, and Direct Signings: Taskin Ahmed, Dinesh Chandimal, Colin Ingram and Kesrick Williams.

Cumilla Victorians’ owner Nafisa Kamal said she is eager to rope in Virat Kohli in her team in a future edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). 

Khulna Tigers have won the toss of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final against Rajshahi Royals and opted to bowl first.

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza on Monday said he will relinquish the role of captaincy if Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wants him to do so.

A hurricane innings of 34 runs of 14 balls by captain Mahmudullah Riyad enabled Chattogram Challengers to stay in the title race of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) eliminating Mashrafe-led Dhaka Platoon by seven wickets in the eliminator at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.