United News of Bangladesh

After weathering a "testing time" in its relations with Bangladesh, India is now willing to engage with the new government in Bangladesh by gradually reactivating all the bilateral mechanisms, pursuing a relationship that keeps 'people at the center' of everything. "We weathered a testing time (Interim regime)," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a visiting Bangladesh media delegation at the Ministry of External Affairs, noting that they now see a "strong" government in place in Bangladesh with a strong people's mandate. He said the new government in Bangladesh is perfectly capable of conducting its work domestically and internationally. The Indian Foreign Secretary said they are getting down to reactivating all tools of bilateral relations and contacts are being made at various levels. Bangladesh and India have over forty bilateral mechanisms including on water, trade, border management, and consular issues. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, Joint Secretary (Bangladesh & Myanmar) B. Shyam, Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) President AKM Moinuddin, and General Secretary Emrul Kayesh were also present at the interactive session held on Monday. Members of the media delegation wanted to know about a range of issues including visas, energy, connectivity, LoC projects, water sharing, the status of Dhaka's request for extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and suspects in the Sharif Osman Hadi killing case and regional cooperation - SAARC and BIMSTEC issues. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said they look forward to a 'constructive, positive, pragmatic, and forward-looking' relationship with Bangladesh, stressing that there is a vast menu of activities underway to engage meaningfully. Bangladesh and India are scheduling a series of meetings in the coming weeks and months as they seek to re-engage following a period of strained relations during the interim government that took office after the fall of the Awami League administration on August 5, 2024. Most of these mechanisms remained dormant during the interim government. After the formation of the government by BNP, India demonstrated positive gestures to improve relations. Bangladesh resumed issuing all categories of visas. India has yet to fully resume visas for Bangladeshis. Misri has not made a specific comment on this but said that India is working on the matter and it will be known in the coming days. Asked about the Bangladesh-India Ganga/Ganges Water Treaty, which is expiring in December this year, he said the Joint River Commission will be discussing these issues. "We have the JRC... we will have to engage in a timely and constructive manner. We have three decades of successful cooperation (Ganga Treaty)," he said. Bangladeshi experts say the treaty needs to be ‘reviewed and reformed comprehensively’ before going for a renewed treaty by engaging economists, urban planners, sociologists, and environmentalists in the planning, as Dhaka shares the ‘risk’ of not sharing it appropriately. “MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) has to do a lot of homework and data sharing is key. We need to keep in mind that the situation in 1996 and 2026 is not the same. This can't be seen only from engineering or diplomatic prisms; they should include economists, urban planners, and sociologists in the planning,” international affairs expert Prof Shahab Enam Khan told UNB. There were also trade restrictions on both sides during the interim government, and political rhetoric played out negatively on both sides. The situation began changing after the elections in February. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India recently. Misri said Bangladesh and India have more than 4,000 kilometers of border and share 54 transboundary rivers."We want to progress and modernise our economic partnership with Bangladesh," he said. He agreed that bilateral relations faced challenges during the period of the interim government and that they could not be improved despite efforts. However, now that Bangladesh has an elected government, India is re-engaging with Bangladesh. "Meetings are being scheduled. Results will be known in the coming weeks and months," Misri said. An official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry said a BGB-BSF level meeting will be held in late May. Misri said the present world situation demands more cooperation among neighbouring countries, and India and Bangladesh have been working towards this end. India's energy cooperation with Bangladesh - whether power or diesel - today is benefiting the people of Bangladesh, he said, assuring continued support in this regard. Asked about the trade restrictions, Misri said India stands ready to take forward the discussions as the livelihoods of people in both countries are affected. Trade will be something that will come up first in the discussions, he said, adding that "We want mutual benefits on both sides." Asked about the projects under the Indian Line of Credit (LOC), Misri said Bangladesh has reviewed the LOC projects and both sides will discuss the projects that Bangladesh prioritises and India will consider financing accordingly, he said. Asked if the victory of the BJP in West Bengal elections will work positively for the signing of the Teesta deal, he said foreign policy operates from the capital. Asked how India looks at the BNP government's initiatives in activating SAARC while maintaining relations with Pakistan, Misri said it is up to Bangladesh how it maintains relations with other countries. However, India hopes that Bangladesh does not do anything that negatively affects the positive agenda of India. Misri rejected the notion that India engineered elections in Bangladesh and stressed that the bilateral relationship has always been people-centric and will always be so. Responding to allegations that India maintained close ties with the Awami League, Misri said, “We have always worked with the government elected by  people.” He said people of a country may not be happy with any government but a foreign country cannot do anything about it. The Indian FS said the relationship is built with the country, people, and the government, not with a particular political party. "We have always respected people's desire in Bangladesh," he said. India reiterated its intent to work closely with the people and the government of Bangladesh to strengthen people-centric cooperation in all domains, aligned with their respective national development priorities and based on mutual interest and mutual benefit. India emphasised the need to leverage the geographical proximity between the two countries into tangible economic opportunities and wants to develop future-oriented economic engagement. As the two largest economies of the region and close neighbours with a focus on building connectivity, India and Bangladesh are uniquely positioned to lead regional economic integration and build resilient and future-ready supply chains. India reaffirmed the shared commitment to unlock new avenues of cooperation and elevate the economic partnership with Bangladesh to the next level. On April 6, outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and discussed bilateral engagement with a focus on people-centric cooperation in multiple domains aligned with the national development priorities of the two countries. The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in a wide range of areas including public health, financial inclusion, women‘s empowerment, rural development, bilateral trade and investment, ease of doing business, technology partnerships, and power and energy cooperation. The High Commissioner underlined that India-Bangladesh cooperation should transform their geographical proximity into new opportunities by strengthening economic and connectivity linkages and by enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He conveyed India’s intent to work together with the Government and the people of Bangladesh in a positive, constructive, and forward-looking manner based on mutual interest and mutual benefit.

The 2023 Asia Cup is approaching the final, with the last match of the Super Four stage between India and Bangladesh. While India was dominant throughout the tournament, Bangladesh is eager to conclude their continental campaign with a big win. This highly anticipated IND vs BAN clash is set for this Friday, September 15, 2023, at 3:30 PM at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Preview of IND vs BAN ODI in Asia Cup 2023 Since this game won’t affect the trophy race, and the Indian team will have only one day of rest before the finals, it’s likely that the Indian team management will opt to rest some key players. Shreyas Iyer, who was sidelined in India’s last two matches due to a back spasm, is anticipated to be fit for this upcoming game. Meanwhile, the experienced fast bowler Mohammad Shami may step in for Jasprit Bumrah to ensure Bumrah’s fitness for the crucial final match. The head coach of the Tigers, Chandika Hathurusingha, had previously announced that there would be no team practice during a three-day break from September 10 to the 13. Two key Bangladeshi players, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mushfiqur Rahim, have temporarily left the squad to attend to family matters in Dhaka. While Shakib will join the squad, Mushfiqur Rahim will be absent from the Asia Cup Super Four match against India on Friday. Bangladesh Cricket Board has granted him an extension of leave to be with his newborn child and family. Read more: Banglabandhu Beach Volleyball begins in Cox's Bazar on Wednesday Bangladesh’s performance in the Super Four stage has fallen short of the high expectations of their fans. Unfortunately, they have been eliminated from the tournament. The dreams of achieving their first continental championship have diminished for skipper Shakib Al Hassan’s team, especially after suffering losses in their first two Super Four matches. Their big 89-run victory over Afghanistan in the group stage, which secured their place in the Super Four, stands as their sole triumph in this tournament. The Tigers are now hoping for a positive result in their final Super Four match before they prepare to host New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting on September 21. In the other two Super Four matches, Sri Lanka won over Bangladesh by 21 runs, and Pakistan won by 7 wickets. On the other hand, India is approaching their final Super Four match as the only team in the tournament that remains undefeated. The Men in Blue delivered an impressive 228-run victory over their arch-rivals, Pakistan, during the Super Four stage. They followed this up with a successful defense of 213 runs against Sri Lanka, which they won by 41 runs. Despite not being able to complete a full 100-over game in the group stages, the seven-time Asian champions have now played on the R. Premadasa Stadium field for three consecutive days. They are now looking forward to a brief break before stepping onto the field against Bangladesh. Read more: Mushfiqur Rahim to Miss Super Four Clash Against India Predicted XIs for India Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj. Predicted XIs for Bangladesh Mohammad Naim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das (wk), Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed. IND vs BAN Head to Head ODI Matches So Far Despite a strong effort from the Bangladesh team, India has consistently held the upper hand in this rivalry. The Men in Blue maintain a commanding lead in the head-to-head record, with an impressive 31 victories out of 39 encounters, while the Bangladesh Tigers have managed to secure victory only seven times thus far. One match had no result. Read more: Wellalage’s all-round show in vain as India clinch low-scoring affair vs Sri Lanka Key Indian Players to Watch Rohit Sharma The 36-year-old Indian captain is presently at the top of the run-scoring leaderboard, scoring 194 runs at an impressive average of 64.66. In his latest match against Sri Lanka, he reached the significant milestone of 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. Although he has scored half-centuries three times in this tournament, Rohit has not yet managed to score his first century. He will be eager to achieve this milestone in the remaining two innings before the tournament concludes. Virat Kohli In his remarkable innings against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup, Kohli surpassed the milestone of 13,000 runs in ODI, becoming the fifth player in men’s ODIs to achieve this remarkable feat. However, he scored only three runs in the next match against Sri Lanka. But his excellent batting against Pakistan resembled his comeback. So, Kohli might repeat that performance against the Tigers. KL Rahul Indian batsman K.L. Rahul achieved a century during the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Pakistan at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Monday. He returned to the Indian side after a nearly three-month absence due to multiple injuries and reached the century mark by hitting a double off Naseem Shah’s delivery. So, Rahul will be looking for another good score in the next match to make his position permanent in the team. Overall, KL Rahul played 56 matches for India and scored 2136 runs, which includes 6 centuries. Read more: India clinch historic victory against Pakistan by a staggering 228-run margin Key Bangladeshi Players to Watch Taskin Ahmed Bangladeshi captain will assign crucial responsibility to Taskin, aiming to stop the star-studded Indian top-order, which has been dominating pacers throughout this ongoing competition. Taskin Ahmed shares the distinction of being the highest wicket-taker in Asia Cup 2023, having taken nine wickets from four innings. The 28-year-old fast bowler played a pivotal role in their victory over Afghanistan, recording impressive bowling figures of 4 for 44 in 8.3 overs. He is expected to be a key factor in the success of the Bangladesh team. Shakib Al Hasan Captain Shakib Al Hasan is yet to give his best performance in this Asia Cup 2023. However, he played his role well as the captain. But overall, his batting and bowling performance has been dimmed recently. So, fans can expect one last performance before returning to home. So far, he scored 93 runs and grabbed 2 wickets in this Asia Cup. Towhid Hridoy Towhid failed to contribute to Bangladesh greatly in the first three matches of the Asia Cup 2023. In the first match, he scored 21 runs off 41 balls without any boundaries. In the next match against Afghanistan in Lahore, Bangladesh won by 89 runs, but he scored a zero. He also got out in a single-digit against Pakistan in the Super Four. However, Towhind knocked a brilliant batting performance in the last match against Sri Lanka, scoring 82 runs off 97 balls. So, we can expect another knock in the next match. Read more: ICC World Cup 2023: India ODI Squad Analysis Final Words Considering the match results so far in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 ODI tournament, it can be said that team India is favorite in the contest. However, nothing is impossible in cricket. To secure their first Super Four stage victory, Bangladesh need to show outstanding performances in all sectors including batting, bowling and fielding.  Bangladesh team should follow team Sri Lanka’s strategy to give a good fight, as they are the only team in this Asia Cup who gave an excellent fight against India. But, considering the team India’s performance, they have full potential to win the IND vs BAN Super Four Round match. Read more: Tigers aim for a memorable end to their Asia Cup campaign by facing India

Defending champions Bangladesh lost for the first time in the three-nation SAFF U-18 Women's Championship 2022 as they went down 1-0 to hosts India Saturday. This was the first victory for India against Bangladesh in the SAFF U-18 Women's Championship and also the second consecutive win for them in the ongoing tournament after a 7-0 thrashing of Nepal in the opening match. Bangladesh tasted their maiden defeat after beating Nepal 4-2 in their tournament opener Thursday at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur. Read: SAFF U-18: Bangladesh thrash Nepal 4-2 In the day's hard-fought match, Nitu punished a defensive lapse from Bangladesh to score the match-winner for India in the 64th minute (1-0). In the double league-based regional tournament, Bangladesh will play against Nepal again on March 23 and hosts India on March 25.

Bangladesh and India will play the final super league quarter-finals game of the ongoing ICC U19 World Cup 2022 on Saturday in Antigua to complete the semi-finals lineup. England, Afghanistan, and Australia have already qualified for the semifinals. The Indian team has gone undefeated in this championship, whereas the Bangladesh U19 team lost to England in the group stage. The quarter-final match preview of Bangladesh vs India is discussed in this article.  Team News for the U19 World Cup 2022 Quarter-Final Match: BAN U19 vs IND U19 According to sources, both sides' players are physically fit for this highly anticipated elimination match, which will determine the fourth semifinalist of the ICC U19 World Cup 2022. Let's take a look at the possible playing XIs for Bangladesh and India in this super league quarter-final contest. Bangladesh   The Bangladesh U19 team qualified for the super league quarter-finals by winning two games in the group stage against Canada and the United Arab Emirates. They finished second in the points standings after defeating Canada by 8 wickets and the UAE by 9 wickets (D/L method). Bangladesh only lost one game in the group stage, a 7-wicket defeat against England. Read BPL 2022 Phase 2 Preview: All You Need to Know Iftakher Hossain has been Bangladesh's most successful batter in the competition so far. He has a fifty and has scored 98 runs in two innings. Mahfijul Islam has also struck a half-century for the young tigers. Ripon Mondol has the most wickets for Bangladesh, with eight in three innings. These players, as well as captain Rakibul Hasan, Aich Mollah, and Prantik Nawrose Nabil will be crucial in the match against India.  Predicted Playing XI Mahfijul Islam, Ariful Islam, Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Aich Mollah, Md Fahim (WK), Ashiqur Zaman, Abdullah Al Mamun, SM Meherob, Rakibul Hasan (C), Naimur Rohman, Ripon Mondol        India The Indian U19 team qualified for the Super League quarter-finals after topping their group with six points. They defeated South Africa by 45 runs in their first match of the group stage. The India U19 side defeated Ireland by 174 runs and Uganda by 326 runs in their second and third matches, respectively.  Indian U19 opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been in outstanding form in this competition. He has a century and has scored 228 runs in three innings. Raj Bawa has also scored 217 runs in three innings for India's youth team. Vicky Ostwal has taken the most wickets for the U19 Indian team with seven. Overall, this Indian youth team is quite competitive, and they will put Bangladesh's youth team to the test in the quarter-final clash. Read Won’t play T20Is for at least 6 months: Tamim Predicted Playing XI Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harnoor Singh, Sheikh Rasheed, Yash Dhull (C), Nishant Sindhu, Raj Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Dinesh Bana (WK), Vicky Ostwal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravi Kumar     Schedule of Match, TV Channels to Watch, and Live Streaming Bangladesh will face India in the ICC U19 World Cup 2022 super league quarter-final on Saturday (January 29) at 7 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time). The game will be held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda. The Star Sports Network will show this knockout match live. Anyone can also watch the Bangladesh U19 vs India U19 quarter-final match live on the Hotstar app.    Read Covid breaches BPL, Dhaka’s Isuru tests positive Verdict One of the Bangladesh U19 team's most memorable achievements has been against India in the 2020 U19 World Cup final. The young Tigers won their first World Cup after defeating India in the 2020 edition championship match. Therefore, the Bangladesh U19 team will be even more motivated going into this match. Oppositely, the India U19 team has been one of the tournament's most dominant teams. They will be seeking to avenge their loss to Bangladesh in the final of the previous edition in this quarter-final encounter. Overall, this ICC U19 World Cup 2022 super league quarter-final match between Bangladesh and India promises to be enthralling, with the winning team progressing to the semifinals.   Read Tamim's ton overshadows Lindle's first BPL century