Leadership gaps hamper BCB operations
Faruque Ahmed was officially announced as the president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on 21 August. Yet, just two months in, governance issues are already surfacing within the board. While former president Nazmul Hassan Papon ran operations like a one-man show, Faruque appears to be centralising operations similarly, as seen in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s captaincy situation.
3w ago
A two-fold challenge for Shanto
Bangladesh’s all-format captain Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed a wish to step down from captaincy after the ongoing South Africa Test series, the first match of which the Tigers lost by seven wickets in Mirpur last week and the final game to be played in Chattogram from tomorrow.
3w ago
Batting debacles: A continuing headache
Batting debacles are a regularity in Bangladesh cricket and they appear to be happening more frequently in recent times.
4w ago
Miraz blossoming into big-role player
Miraz has been involved in all three latest fightbacks with the bat in Tests after a top-order collapse.
1m ago
A fresh reality check on old T20I shortcomings
The third T20I between Bangladesh and India on Saturday in Hyderabad was a dead rubber, with the hosts already up by 2-0 in the series. From a Bangladeshi perspective, the main point of interest in the match was whether the Tigers could put on an improved showing, especially on the batting front.
1m ago
Siraj’s humble beginnings continue to inspire locals
On Friday, on a visit to the First Lancer Ground in Hyderabad’s Syed Nagar area, the hub for cricket in the locality, this correspondent came across Jayed Khan, a young fast bowler with dreams of making it big as a cricketer.
1m ago
Much learning left as Tigers try to find Miraz’s role
It rained in Hyderabad yesterday afternoon, a day before the third and final T20I between Bangladesh and India, but soon it ebbed away giving way to sunshine, although not for very long.
1m ago
A festival for Gwalior
The streets of the Shankargarh village area were packed with incoming traffic at 5:00 PM, some two hours before the first T20I between India and Bangladesh yesterday. There was tight security but that hardly dampened the fans’ excitement for the game in Gwalior, where international cricket had returned after 14 years.
1m ago
December 20, 2022
Messi the Dios of happiness
How should one remember December 18? It may as well be known as the GOAT day. The coronation of the King, who completed football. The story, with a fairytale ending for one of the greatest to play the game and what had come to pass before and the joy thereafter, makes it one of sport’s greatest. For France, it was 120 minutes in the Lionel Messi territory and some more. For Argentina, they had to do it under the spirited gaze of Kylian Mbappe, always on the hunt. That only made Messi’s coronation that much sweeter in the end.
December 15, 2022
Pitch leaves curious impression on opening day
Day one of the first Test between Bangladesh and India was a seesaw affair for the most part despite the game remaining in balance at the close of play yesterday.
December 5, 2022
Mehedi, Shakib lead Tigers to thrilling win
It was edge-of-the-seat stuff at the end and it came against the backdrop of a low-scoring encounter as Bangladesh put their ODI mettle to use to seize victory from the jaws of defeat with a thrilling one-wicket win over India in the first of the three-match ODI series at Mirpur yesterday.
December 2, 2022
Desert fest: Argentina get their mojo back
Clenched teeth, head lowered. That is how Lionel Messi returned to the dressing room after his first-half penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny. If that is how things had ended, it could have been Messi’s last World Cup game. But his team had other ideas.
November 28, 2022
Burden now as big as Messi’s gifts
Lionel Messi dropped off from Mexico’s midfield marker and just stood there for an instance, standing quite a few metres from the top of the box, as he usually does. Only a nuanced eye would know that he is waiting for Julian Alvarez to push the centre-backs just a little bit more before he almost willed Angel Di Maria pass onto his feet. This is the nearest distance to goal that his countrymen could find him with a pass and with Argentina’s World Cup hanging on the line, Messi did the impossible.
October 19, 2022
'Bounce and movement? Is this Mirpur?'
“Is that extra bounce in Mirpur?”
October 11, 2022
The Shakib-Liton batting order conundrum
Bangladesh’s batting order and their overall batting plan in the T20I format continue to flummox, with Liton Das and skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s batting positions an area which negates Bangladesh’s advantage as a batting unit heading into the T20I World Cup in Australia.
September 10, 2022
Finishers’ impact grows as final beckons
When it comes to death-over bowling, the 2022 Asia Cup has seen pretty sub-par performances from a few bowlers. Pakistan’s Harris Rauf and India’s Arshdeep Singh have been the most reliable names in the tournament, but in general, runs have been leaked and the biggest boost it has given is to batters who played the role of finisher in the T20 event.
September 5, 2022
Modern T20s a thorn on off-spinners’ side?
The recent pattern of the T20 game has seen wrist spinners gain more ground but the dearth of off-spinners in the shortest format has seen their roles come into question, whereas in ODIs the off-spinners are called to stem the flow of runs and also to lull batters to take chances against them, resulting in their dismissals.
September 2, 2022
Tigers exit Asia Cup with heavy hearts
It was heartbreak for Bangladesh as they exited the Asia Cup, unable to grab the bull by the horns, on Thursday following an agonising two-wicket defeat in Dubai.
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