United News of Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday announced the final list of candidates for its October 6 election, with 34 names left in the race for 25 director posts. Sixteen candidates withdrew before the withdrawal deadline. Most of the withdrawals came from Category 2, which covers Dhaka’s clubs. Thirteen of the 30 candidates dropped out, many amid claims of government pressure. With the High Court also blocking 15 disputed third-division clubs from the voter roll, only 16 candidates remain for 12 seats in this category. In Category 1, made up of district and divisional sports associations, six of the 10 directors have already been confirmed without a vote. Former national player Abdur Razzak, along with Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Khulna), Shakhawat Hossain (Barishal), Rahat Sams (Sylhet), singer Asif Akbar (Chattogram), and Ahsan Iqbal Chowdhury (Rajshahi), have all been elected unopposed. That leaves contests in the Dhaka, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions. Current BCB President Aminul Islam is among three candidates vying for two posts in Dhaka. In total, 70 district and divisional councillors will cast their ballots in this category. After stepping back from BCB polls, Tamim alleges ‘election fixing’ Category 3, which includes former players, ex-captains, and institutions, has narrowed to two candidates after one withdrew. Former captain Khaled Mashud Pilot will face Jahangirnagar University’s Debabrata Pal for the single seat, decided by 45 votes. Voting for all remaining posts will be held on October 6.

After confirming his withdrawal from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) elections, former national captain Tamim Iqbal sharpened his criticism of the process, calling it ‘rigged’ and unworthy of the sport. While talking to the media in Mirpur on Wednesday, Tamim said he and at least 14 other heavyweight candidates had pulled out as a form of protest. “This is not an election. Things are being done, however and whenever it suits. Cricket doesn’t deserve this kind of dirty game. Today, cricket has lost a hundred percent,” he told reporters. Tamim went further, linking his protest to a wider issue. “People keep saying fixing in cricket must stop. But first, stop fixing elections. Only then can you talk about cricket fixing,” he said. The withdrawals cut across categories, with several prominent figures backing away. The BCB election commission on Tuesday afternoon published the final list of candidates across three categories for the October 6 polls. Tamim, Sports Adviser trade explosive claims as BCB election battle heats up The announcement came hours after Tamim and several other high-profile contenders withdrew their nominations, citing allegations of government interference. Critics argue that the sports advisor of the interim government of Bangladesh, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, is interfering in the election. Asif Mahmud, however, did not respond to this criticism till Wednesday afternoon.

Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his nomination from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election, in a move that deepens the turmoil already surrounding the polls slated for October 6. Tamim appeared at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur around 10:15am on Wednesday and withdrew as today is the last day for candidates to pull out. Sources close to the process suggested that up to a dozen club-backed candidates are also considering withdrawal. Tamim, Sports Adviser trade explosive claims as BCB election battle heats up Tamim’s move — given his profile as one of the country’s most influential cricketers — has cast further doubt over how credible and competitive the election will be. Tamim’s withdrawal indicates how sharply cricket politics entwined with national politics now. All these together put the BCB election on edge.

Bangladesh’s youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan says Shakib Al Hasan will not be allowed to play for the national team again, escalating a two-day online spat that began with the cricketer’s birthday greeting to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year after a 15-year rule marred by allegation of her authoritarian tendency and widespread corruption. Speaking to a TV channel this week, Asif said he would issue a “clear instruction” to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB): “He cannot be allowed to carry Bangladesh’s flag or wear its jersey… Shakib Al Hasan will never again play for the Bangladesh team.” The adviser’s on-air declaration followed a rapid exchange of Facebook posts. On Sunday around 9pm, Shakib posted a photo with Hasina — now abroad following her ouster — with the caption, “Happy birthday, Apa.” About an hour later, Asif wrote on his own page: “Many cursed me for not rehabilitating one person. But I was right. End of discussion.” Asif’s comment refers to the time when Shakib was about to head back home to play a Test match in Dhaka, which he had announced as his last, but he couldn't due to the protest against him. Shakib was a member of the parliament during Hasina’s last tenure. He was elected for Hasina’s Awami League party. At 11:20pm, Shakib replied on Facebook without naming Asif: “So finally someone admits that because of him I was not given the Bangladesh jersey again, could not play for Bangladesh!” He ended with: “Perhaps one day I will return to my motherland. I love Bangladesh.” By Monday afternoon, Asif doubled down. In another post, he said, “Whose hands are stained with the blood of students and people cannot be allowed to carry Bangladesh’s flag,” and argued that Shakib is “deeply tied” to Awami League politics despite claiming he was “forced” into a 2024 election nomination. He also cited long-running allegations against the player, referring to “share market scams, money laundering, financial fraud,” and added: “Why should someone be rehabilitated just because he is a good cricketer? The law is equal for all.” Asked by TV about the birthday post, Shakib said it was not political. “She has always followed cricket, long before politics… From that connection, I wished her. There was no other motive, no signal to anyone,” he said. Shakib has previously maintained he was compelled to accept the election nomination and was not active in party politics. The dispute is the latest twist in a fraught year for the country’s most prominent cricketer. Shakib was outside Bangladesh when Hasina’s government fell on August 5 last year. Since then he has not returned home. He was elected to parliament on the Awami League’s boat symbol and, like others from that period, now faces cases including murder and financial allegations. A planned farewell Test in October collapsed when, according to team sources at the time and government officials, he turned back mid-journey after failing to secure permission to enter Dhaka. Many in cricket circles believed the sports adviser opposed his return; Asif’s posts this week will be read as confirmation that he did. On Monday night Asif said that while he had not previously conveyed a formal position to the BCB, his directive is now explicit: Shakib will not be selected again. The adviser framed the stance as a matter of national dignity as much as discipline. “He cannot be allowed to bear the identity of Bangladesh’s jersey,” he told the channel. Shakib’s supporters flooded social media arguing that cricket should be separated from politics and that selection should be based on performance and fitness. Critics of the all-rounder countered that no athlete should be insulated from legal scrutiny or treated as an exception. The debate showed how entwined sport and politics have become — and how much of it now plays out on phones before it reaches meeting rooms. Shakib, 38, did not address the selection ban directly beyond his Facebook post. In the same message he wrote, “Perhaps one day I will return to my motherland,” a line that read like a farewell and a promise at once. Asif’s order, if acted upon, would draw a line under an era that defined Bangladesh cricket for more than a decade. It was delivered not at a selection table or a press conference, but across a weekend of posts and late-night calls — a very modern end to a very public career.

India left Dubai with the Asia Cup title secured, unbeaten through the tournament, yet the trophy itself never touched their hands. What should have been a straightforward celebration turned into a night of contradictions — a breakthrough for Abhishek Sharma, a statement from captain Suryakumar Yadav, and another twist in the India–Pakistan rivalry. For Abhishek, the campaign was the clearest sign yet that he belongs on the international stage. The 24-year-old opener finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, hammering 314 runs at a strike-rate of 200. He batted without hesitation, often going after the first ball he faced. Twice he crossed fifty in the Powerplay. And yet, he said the freedom to play that way came less from numbers than from trust. “I never felt this was a pressure match,” Abhishek said after being named Player of the Tournament. “Surya bhai and GG ji (Gautam Gambhir) gave me confidence. If you want to play with such high risk, you need support when it doesn’t work. They gave me that.” Abhishek’s journey has been anything but linear. Part of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2018, his domestic and IPL career faltered before taking off again. He admitted those struggles were necessary: “If I came directly, I would not have learned everything. I got more time to work, and that helped.” His innings throughout the Asia Cup set the tone for India’s dominance, but the night of the final told a different story. Chasing 147 against Pakistan, India stumbled to 20 for 3. Abhishek himself was back in the dugout early. It fell to Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube to steady the chase. India eventually won with two balls to spare, securing a ninth Asia Cup title. Then came the controversy. On the presentation stage, Suryakumar and his teammates declined to take the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and cricket board chairman. Instead, they mimed lifting an invisible cup. “I have never seen this before, a champion team not getting a trophy,” Suryakumar told reporters. “It was hard-earned. We were here since the fourth [of September]. But we were not disappointed. We had smiles on our faces, we celebrated our players, and that was enough.” The India captain stressed the decision was the players’ own, not a directive from administrators.  Asked to explain, he said: “Rinku Singh hit a four, India won, we applauded every player’s achievement. We celebrated that. What more do you want?” Even without a trophy in hand, Suryakumar said the campaign would be remembered for them in playing as a unit.  He called his teammates and staff “the real trophies” and later announced he would donate his match fees from the tournament to the Indian Armed Forces.  

India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on Sunday night, but the cricket has been overshadowed by the fallout that followed. On the field, it was a classic. Pakistan, given a strong start by Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century, crashed from 113 for 1 to 146 all out. Nine wickets gone for just 33 runs. Kuldeep Yadav’s four wickets did the damage. India’s reply was shaky — three wickets down for 20, the crowd buzzing, Pakistan sensing a way in. Then Tilak Varma stood firm. His 69 not out, alongside Shivam Dube’s 33, dragged India over the line with two balls to spare. It should have been about that chase. Instead, attention flipped the moment the presentation began. India’s players refused to take the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and PCB chairman. They posed for photos with imaginary silverware, leaving the real trophy behind. India decline Asia Cup trophy from ACC chief Pakistan captain Salman Agha called it “disrespectful, not just to us but to the game.”  He said India’s refusal to shake hands throughout the tournament and their behaviour at the ceremony sent the wrong message: “If kids are watching this, what are they learning?” Politics rushed in almost immediately. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India congratulated the Indian team with a post linking the win to “Operation Sindoor,” the military action against Pakistan earlier this year. “On the field too, Operation Sindoor. Result the same — India victorious,” he wrote. Naqvi hit back within the hour. “If war is your measure of pride, history has already written your defeats,” he posted, accusing Modi of dragging war into cricket. The row capped a tournament already heavy with tension. Captains didn’t shake hands at tosses, joint photos were skipped, even routine pleasantries avoided. By the time India held their mock celebration on stage, the frost had turned into a visible split. India now have nine Asia Cup titles, two in T20 format. Yet this edition will be remembered as much for politics as for cricket — for a night in Dubai where a final ended not with a trophy in hand, but with both sides pointing fingers long after the game was done.

India defeated Pakistan to retain their Asia Cup crown but declined to accept the trophy from Pakistan’s interior minister and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi, bringing an unusual close to a politically sensitive tournament on Sunday. The high-stakes final followed weeks of tension between the two nuclear-armed nations, who had clashed militarily in May. India and Pakistan faced each other three times in the eight-nation event in the UAE, with India victorious on each occasion. Following India’s five-wicket win in the Dubai International Stadium final, the presentation ceremony was delayed for over an hour and abruptly shortened before the trophy handover. “The Indian team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” said presenter Simon Doull, citing ACC officials. India crowned Asia Cup champions after 5-wicket win over Pakistan Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia later confirmed that players had declined to receive the trophy from Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan Cricket Board chairman. He said the BCCI would formally raise the matter at the next International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting. While the team skipped the trophy handover, individual award winners Tilak Varma (player of the match), Abhishek Sharma (player of the tournament) and Kuldeep Yadav (MVP) accepted their honors. They, however, did not acknowledge Naqvi, who notably refrained from applauding them. Source: Agency 

India has won cricket’s Asia Cup for the ninth time with a five-wicket victory over archrival Pakistan in Sunday’s final with only two balls remaining. Tilak Varma scored a nerveless 69 not out for India off 53 balls, including a crucial six against Haris Rauf in the 20th and last over. Rinku Singh hit the winning runs with a four. Put into bat, Pakistan had earlier collapsed from 113-1 to 146 all out in 19.1 overs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. That looked like being enough after defending champion India’s terrible start to its innings, dropping to 20-3 after four overs, including the prized wicket of Abhishek Sharma (5). But Varma and Shivam Dube (33) led the recovery as India reached 150-5 in 19.4 overs. Varma added 57 off 50 balls with Sanju Samson (24) but the game-changing partnership was between Varma and Dube (33 off 22 balls). It was India’s second T20 Asia Cup victory after 2016, and ninth overall since 1984, across formats. This was the first India-Pakistan final in Asia Cup history, which started in 1984. The two sides had already met twice earlier in this tournament – in group play and Super Four — both won comfortably by India. India’s cricketers refused to shake hands with Pakistan after both those games and there were no handshakes at Sunday’s toss.

Strip away the noise around an India–Pakistan final, and the cricketing question for tonight’s Asia Cup title match is simple, who will control the middle overs? For all the talk of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s swing up front and Abhishek Sharma’s blazing starts, the trophy may well rest on how India’s Kuldeep Yadav–Varun Chakravarthy axis matches up against Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed once the field spreads. Dubai has rewarded smart spin throughout this tournament. India’s two earlier wins over Pakistan both tilted when Suryakumar Yadav turned to Kuldeep and Varun with runs already banked. Kuldeep has punished anything that gripped; Varun’s pace-off and flat lengths have smothered release shots. Together, they have pushed batters into risky cross-bat strokes and miscues to the deep. The upshot: India have not needed totals over 180 to look comfortable. Pakistan’s reply is Abrar. His economy in this Asia Cup has hovered near five an over — the best of any bowler with a serious workload. When he lands the ripping legbreak early and then shortens his length, even set batters can freeze. Asia Cup Final: Powerplay nerve and death overs discipline will decide title His second outing against India was more expensive than the first, but the method was sound: get into the game as soon as the Powerplay fades and drag the rate back toward par. Those ten overs after the first six have also been Pakistan’s soft spot with the bat. They’ve relied on streaks — a Fakhar Zaman burst here, a Faheem Ashraf cameo there — to cover up quiet stretches. Against Bangladesh, it took a lower-order rescue — even a hand from Shaheen with the bat — to patch up a collapse. That won’t hold if Kuldeep and Varun choke the middle and make sevens feel like nines. Conditions add their own wrinkle. Dew hasn’t swung matches yet, but late September in Dubai can be unpredictable. A wet ball kills grip, and skidding cutters sit up. If the outfield glistens after the break, captains will want to chase. If it stays dry, 160 can feel like 180 provided spinners own the seam. Team balance matters, too. India may stick with Axar Patel for matchup depth, giving Suryakumar three distinct spin options. Pakistan’s temptation will be to squeeze in another hitter; the danger is losing a spinner’s over and handing India six pace-heavy balls on a track asking for turn. That isn’t to dismiss the headline acts. Abhishek vs Shaheen will set the tone. If Abhishek lasts, he buys Kuldeep and Varun a platform. If Shaheen cuts him down early, Abrar comes on with scoreboard pressure as an ally, not a weight. ICC warns Indian cricketer Suryakumar to steer clear of politics after Pakistan complaint But for once in an India–Pakistan clash, the telling images may not be stumps cartwheeling or balls sailing into the stands. It may be a batter groping at a legbreak, a top-spin slider thudding pad, or an over of three singles when four were needed. In a final that promises fireworks, it might just be the quiet squeeze of spin that tips the trophy.

India walk into the Asia Cup final with two convincing wins over Pakistan already in the bag. Pakistan managed a ticket for the final with something rarer: momentum salvaged when things looked shaky. Strip away the noise about handshakes, hearings and history, and tonight looks like a test of temperament — how each side copes with the first six overs and just as crucially, the last five. Start with the Powerplay: India have often sprinted to 50 inside five overs, with opening batter Abhishek Sharma throwing punches early and Shubman Gill timing his strokes. That cushion has spared a middle order that hasn’t always been fluent. Pakistan know the calculation: If Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf don’t crack India’s top two in the first 18 balls, they’re left chasing angles for the next dozen overs. Shaheen looks closer to his old self — tailing the ball in, hitting the deck hard, and finding wickets in the first over. Rauf, sometimes criticised in the longer format, is better suited to T20 bursts: one over in the Powerplay, another around the 12th, just to jolt rhythm. If Pakistan can take out one opener and push Suryakumar Yadav’s entry into the spinners’ stretch, they tilt the tempo their way. ICC warns Indian cricketer Suryakumar to steer clear of politics after Pakistan complaint Flip it around, and India’s start with Jasprit Bumrah is all about control. He doesn’t always blast doors open; more often he keeps them locked. His 18-for-2 the other night showed how quickly he can put a chase on hold. That sets up the Kuldeep–Varun combination to operate without chasing wickets. Dot balls early, and Pakistan’s middle order is forced to gamble against turn. The closing overs bring a different kind of strain. India have generally finished better — either because they’re ahead by the 15th over, or by nailing their yorker-and-slower-ball routines. When they slip, it’s often around the 17th, when a chase suddenly breathes again. Pakistan have lived the reverse: scraping to par scores, then defending them by clamping the final five overs. Shaheen tends to return clear-eyed, Rauf unleashes the bouncer, and a third option — maybe Abrar or a seamer — cleans up the margins. Selection calls feed into that temperament test. India are likely to bring back Bumrah and Shivam Dube after a rest. Dube didn’t click in his last tactical move but still offers a seam option and reach at the finish. Pakistan, settled for three games now, look likely to stick. Captain Salman Agha put it plainly: don’t muzzle the quicks — let them impose themselves, as long as they don’t cross the line. And then there are the small things that finals often swing on: a relay throw cut off cleanly, a sharp take at 130 kph, running the first hard to stretch singles into twos. Bangladesh crash out after batting collapse hands Pakistan Asia Cup final spot India’s fielding against Bangladesh was patchy; they can’t afford repeats. Pakistan’s calling has been jittery; one misjudged single in Dubai can flip momentum. Yes, match-ups matter — Abhishek vs Shaheen, Kuldeep vs Fakhar, Abrar vs Tilak. But finals tend to punish panic and reward clarity. The side that breathes through the Powerplay and keeps its nerve in the last five overs will be the one lifting the cup.