United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh advanced to the Asian Games women's cricket semifinals Thursday after their quarterfinal against China was abandoned due to a wet outfield, with neither team taking the field. The sun was out and both sides had completed their warm-ups, but the ground stayed too wet from earlier rain for play to start. The match was called off before the toss. Bangladesh went through on ranking, sitting 10th in the ICC T20I standings against China's 36th. Bangladesh will face the winner of Friday's match between India and Japan, set for 11 a.m. Bangladesh time, in the semifinal on September 20. The team has won two silver medals and a bronze in past editions of the Games. In a video message released by the Bangladesh Olympic Association before the China match, batter Sobhana Mostary said the squad was aiming for another medal. The washout also cost China what would have been a first official meeting between the two sides in T20 cricket. Bangladesh and China last played at the 2010 Asian Games, where Bangladesh bowled China out for 34 and chased the total down in seven overs for the loss of one wicket. That match was not recognized as an international fixture, meaning Thursday's game would have been the first sanctioned T20I between the teams.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that the national men's team will travel to Nepal in March 2027 for a three-match T20 International series. This tour will be dedicated to the memory of those who died in Nepal's recent devastating floods. All three matches will be held in Kathmandu, on March 26, 28 and 30, 2027. Plans for the tour took shape during a meeting between State Minister for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque and Nepal's Ambassador to Bangladesh, Ghanshyam Bhandari. Ambassador Bhandari followed up with a visit to the BCB, where he met President Tamim Iqbal to discuss the proposed series and broader cricketing ties between the two nations. The BCB said it wanted to express sympathy for flood victims through the gesture, describing the series as a chance for the two cricketing nations to stand together at "a time of great loss" and send a message of friendship and solidarity Beyond the series itself, the BCB pledged continued support for cricket development in Nepal, pointing to potential cooperation on men's and women's team tours, High Performance programmes, and coaching and technical assistance for players and staff in both countries.

Former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul on Tuesday said he alone decided to keep Bangladesh out of the T20 World Cup in India – a claim he made before, and one a government inquiry backed up just hours earlier. Bangladesh sat out the February-March tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after the interim government cited security concerns following fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman's removal from the Indian Premier League. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had asked the ICC to shift Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka instead. The ICC said no. A three-member committee formed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports after the current government took office submitted its 22-page report on Tuesday. AKM Wali Ullah, an additional secretary at the ministry, led the panel, joined by former national captain and current chief selector Habibul Bashar and Supreme Court lawyer Faisal Dastgir. The report avoids naming anyone outright, saying only that a decision of this weight should not have come down to one person. Reporters at the news conference were not satisfied with that. Pressed on who the committee actually meant, Dastgir said it was Asif Nazrul. Wali Ullah was less willing to say it plainly. Asked who was responsible, he offered: "The decision was the government's." Asked again, he added: "The government's decision is why Bangladesh could not go and play. You can understand who is at fault." The committee tried to reach former BCB President Aminul Islam but could not. It never spoke to Asif Nazrul or the ICC either. Instead, the findings rest mostly on a timeline of events, a ministry letter telling the BCB that Bangladesh would not travel to India over security concerns, and Asif Nazrul's own past remarks in interviews and on social media. Dastgir insisted the committee was not out to assign blame – though its members clearly think Bangladesh should have played. "We think Bangladesh should have gone," he said. Wali Ullah would not say whether the government made the right call, only that it reflected the circumstances at the time. Asif Nazrul responded within hours on Facebook, calling the decision "essentially mine." He pointed out he had already said as much publicly, more than once, and asked why the ministry had bothered digging into it — and releasing a report — this long after the fact. He defended the decision as a response to what he called an "insulting" move to drop Mustafiz from the IPL, on top of safety concerns for Bangladeshi players, journalists and fans travelling to India. The government did look at moving the matches elsewhere, he said, but nothing worked out. Three things guided him, he said: Bangladesh's dignity, the safety of its people, and political stability ahead of the next election. "I think we made the right decision," he said, arguing Bangladesh's ties with India should rest on equal footing, not on what he called humiliation. The committee said the episode had exposed real weaknesses, both inside the BCB and in how the country handled the diplomacy around it. It laid out seven recommendations: keeping international sport out of political disputes, giving the BCB more autonomy, setting formal policies to protect players and supporters, and making clear who holds authority — and who talks to whom — when decisions like this one come up again.      

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first against Zimbabwe in the opening ODI of their three-match series on Tuesday, marking Australia’s first one-day international in Zimbabwe in 12 years. Australian captain Mitchell Marsh is one of three players from either side who featured in the previous ODI between the teams in Zimbabwe, which the hosts won in 2014. Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza and Brendan Taylor are the other two players who were part of that memorable victory. Australia made two notable changes to its lineup. Cameron Green was left out of the playing XI due to shoulder soreness, while Josh Hazlewood was also rested. The visitors went with three pace bowlers — Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson — for the series opener. Marsh, who is playing his 100th ODI, said the pitch looked good for batting in a day game. Raza said Zimbabwe would have chosen to field had he won the toss. The series is part of Australia’s preparations for next year’s World Cup. However, regular captain Pat Cummins was rested for the three ODIs against Zimbabwe before joining the squad in South Africa for three more ODIs and a series of Test matches.

India took control from the start to win the Women’s Asia Cup cricket tournament for an eighth time on Sunday, beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final. India won the toss, scored a challenging total of 183-5 and then dismissed Sri Lanka for 111 in its 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana (59) and Shafali Verma (68) shared an opening stand of 129 in 12.5 overs before India spinner Shree Charani took 4-20 in four overs. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (36) was the top scorer for her team, sharing a 58-run partnership with Vishmi Gunaratne (20) before Sri Lanka collapsed from 62-1 to 111 all out off the last ball of the innings.

Bangladesh allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz is set to make his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) debut after joining Guyana Amazon Warriors as a replacement for Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi. Mehidy is not part of Bangladesh’s T20I squad for the Asian Games in Japan and will be available for Amazon Warriors for the rest of the CPL season. Nabi is leaving the tournament to join Afghanistan for a three-match T20I series against India starting September 13. He has been a key part of Amazon Warriors’ campaign, taking 12 wickets in six innings at an economy rate of under six. Amazon Warriors have won 10 of their 11 matches across the CPL and the Global Super League and have already qualified for the playoffs. Mehidy was previously signed by Trinbago Knight Riders as a replacement player in 2017 but did not play a match. He will now get another chance to appear in the CPL, nine years after his first involvement in the tournament. Amazon Warriors will also lose Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is leaving for the national team. Gurbaz scored 93 runs in two innings this season, including 54 off 35 balls against Jamaica Kingsmen and 39 off 25 balls against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris will replace Gurbaz. He has already played for Amazon Warriors this year, turning out for them in the Global Super League. Amazon Warriors can also bring Glenn Phillips back into the XI and use Shai Hope as wicketkeeper. Guyana batter Matthew Nandu is another option to open the innings.  

Kent seamer Matt Milnes has heaped praise on bowling partner Hasan Mahmud, calling the Bangladesh pacer a "top, top bowler" after his impressive return to county cricket. Kent were in a strong position after the third day of their County Championship Division Two match against Worcestershire on Friday, leading by 296 runs with the hosts placed 84 for three at stumps. Hasan, who took nine wickets including a six-wicket haul in Bangladesh's Test win over Australia in Darwin last month, picked up 4 for 68 on his return to the county side. He now has the second-best strike rate, 30.37, among bowlers with at least 10 wickets in this season's Division Two. "Hasan obviously brings something special to our attack, so it's a lovely bonus having him back. I think he hits the stumps slightly harder than mine! But yeah, as I said, he just brings that X-factor," Milnes said. Milnes said Hasan's unusual bowling action makes him difficult to face. "He can bowl good pace, his action's a little bit different, tricky to pick up and he's a top, top bowler. I'd rather he was in my side than playing against him," he said. Sam Northeast struck 132 as Kent made 358 in their second innings in tough batting conditions, before Milnes took two wickets for 21 runs to reduce Worcestershire to 39 for three. Brett D'Oliveira and Adam Hose steadied the innings before bad light ended play early, with Worcestershire closing on 84 for three.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Tamim Iqbal's latest hike in domestic match fees has drawn wide praise, but questions remain over whether all cricketers will get enough playing opportunities to benefit from it. Tamim announced the increase on Thursday, the second such hike in five months after an earlier rise in April. The latest revision lifts first-class match fees by 114.29 percent, while List A and T20 fees double from last season. Women's match fees have also doubled across all three formats. Tamim said a player completing the domestic season could now earn Tk 35-40 lakh a year including salary, more than Tk 3 lakh a month on average. But only 21 players across eight teams played all seven matches in last season's National Cricket League four-day competition, while no Rangpur Division player featured in all 10 of the team's T20 matches, according to BCB data. Under the new fee structure, a player appearing in all seven NCL four-day matches can earn Tk 10.5 lakh, with a further Tk 20.5 lakh possible from a proposed new six-team, three-format domestic structure. A Chattogram Division cricketer said the benefit "is not going to be there for all the players," noting that national and 'A' team players are best placed to gain since they also feature in the BPL and DPL. The BCB hopes a newly proposed NCL Second XI will widen opportunities for players outside the main system, though its match fee has not yet been decided.    

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday announced a sweeping increase in match fees for domestic cricketers, aiming to help players earn up to Tk 35-40 lakh a year from domestic cricket alone. BCB president Tamim Iqbal unveiled the decision at a press conference, saying the hike amounted to more than 100 percent in some categories. Under the new structure, first-class match fees will rise to Tk 1.5 lakh from Tk 70,000, List A fees will double to Tk 1 lakh from Tk 50,000, and T20 fees will go up to Tk 80,000 from Tk 40,000. Women's cricketers will also benefit, with three-day match fees doubling to Tk 40,000, fees for one-dayers rising to Tk 30,000 from Tk 15,000, and T20 fees doubling to Tk 20,000. Tamim said the proposal had come from the players themselves and was meant as a long-term solution rather than a seasonal fix. "The proposal came from the players. We are all one — the players, the board and the directors," he said. "I never wanted a solution for just one year. I wanted something that would benefit the players for years." He said a domestic cricketer could now earn Tk 35-40 lakh, or more than Tk 3 lakh a month, from domestic cricket alone, in addition to any earnings from the Dhaka Premier League or the BPL. Tamim also revealed that a new domestic tournament is in the pipeline, with about 85 percent of the preparatory work already done, and further details expected by the end of the month. He said national team players could feature in the tournament's first edition depending on their international commitments. The BCB chief added that players would be expected to maintain professionalism in return, saying there would be no exceptions for those who fail fitness tests. He said the board is also reviewing the salary structure for umpires, scorers, physiotherapists and trainers, and plans to upgrade academy facilities, including a new 110-metre athletics track.

Towhid Hridoy finished unbeaten on 350 for Bangladesh A against South Africa A in Potchefstroom on Wednesday, passing Tamim Iqbal's long-standing record for the highest first-class score by a Bangladeshi. With this, Hridoy has also become the first Bangladeshi to make a first-class triple century outside the country. He went past Tamim's 334 on the final day of the four-day affair. Tamim set that mark for East Zone against Central Zone in the Bangladesh Cricket League at Mirpur in 2019. Bangladesh A declared on 676 for eight, with Hridoy having faced 481 balls. Rejaur Rahman, who held up an end late in the innings, was 31 not out from 110 deliveries. Wickets fell around Hridoy through the day. The eighth went down with him on 225, leaving him to push the score along with the tail. He and Rejaur then batted through to the declaration. South Africa A, 164 behind on first innings, began their second innings with less than a session left, giving Bangladesh A no realistic chance of bowling them out.