While Litton and Mustafizur bask in family time and freedom, some of their teammates are staying close to the grind.
Several fans expressed dismay at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday after discovering that food and water brought from outside was no longer permitted inside the venue -- a reversal of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) earlier decision that had allowed it for just one match.
Shanto didn’t lash out. He didn’t name names. But his departure is a loud, unmissable protest.
Bangladesh last played a Test in Colombo in 2017 -- at the P Sara Oval -- celebrating their 100th Test with a historic win over Sri Lanka.
That’s a question only time will answer. But there are other pressing questions we can’t ignore.
Canada-based midfielder Shamit Shome is set to make his Bangladesh debut in the Asian Cup Qualifier against Singapore on June 10. The 26-year-old, born to Sylheti parents, follows in the footsteps of Jamal Bhuiyan and Hamza Choudhury as another expatriate embracing his roots.
A few expatriates have made their way into Bangladesh football in recent times, with Canada-based Shamit Shome being the latest addition after England-based Hamza Choudhury, Fahamedul Islam from Italy, Finland-based Tarik Kazi, and Denmark-based Jamal Bhuiyan.
For any structure – a physical one like a skyscraper or an abstract one like Bangladesh cricket – the most important part is its foundation as once the foundation crumbles the structure is bound to come crashing down.
Pacer Ebadot Hossain surprisingly arrived as the leading character in Bangladesh’s emphatic Test triumph over New Zealand in their own backyard, after which The Daily Star’s Ekush Tapader caught up with a certain Sri Lankan who had a significant role behind Ebadot’s development.
Noted Indian filmmaker Srijit Mukherji was seen at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, watching Bangladesh’s match, earlier today. The director wishes to make a biopic on Shakib Al Hasan.
Bangladesh national team cricketers were granted a three-week leave at the conclusion of a five-match T20I series against New Zealand earlier this month. But despite the lack of scheduled practice sessions ahead of the Tigers’ departure to Oman next month for the T20 World Cup, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed had already started work on his bowling.
The Daily Star (DS): Bangladesh won the series against Australia and New Zealand comfortably but the batsmen struggled to score runs. Do you think there are concerns in the batting department going into the T20 World Cup?
The Daily Star (TDS): We have witnessed a huge change in you since the lockdown last year. How did you manage to do that? What are the areas you worked on?
Abysmal failure in all three departments -- batting, bowling and especially fielding – has come to the fore more vividly than ever during Bangladesh’s recently-concluded New Zealand tour. Bangladesh were whitewashed in both T20Is and ODIs. And the thumping losses were only a reflection of Bangladesh’s failure as a unit.
The Daily Star (TDS): There has been a long break. How do you see Bangladesh’s pace unit right now?
Despite the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Monday deciding to allow interested players across the country to avail the board’s training facilities and resume individual practice following a four-month halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, a few players remain in a state of confusion.
On this day, 20 years ago, Bangladesh achieved a new milestone, a new dawn in the nation’s cricketing history after being recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the 10th Test-playing nation. Bangladesh had already announced its prominence in international cricket when the Tigers won the ICC Trophy -- the first major trophy for the country -- by beating Kenya in 1997. After that, Bangladesh’s triumph over Pakistan in their maiden World Cup campaign in 1999 had just made their path to being a Test-playing nation a bit smoother.
May 26, 2020 marked the 15th anniversary of Mushfiqur Rahim’s international debut for Bangladesh. The wicketkeeper-batsman revealed his regrets, points of satisfaction, desires and much more during a long conversation with The Daily Star’s Ekush Tapader.
