Bangladesh Cricket Board
BCB to distribute Tk 2 crore among 1720 cricketers
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will provide financial incentive of Tk two crore among 1720 men and women cricketers, most of whom are outside the BCB’s existing contract system.
Contracted women cricketers however, will be eligible for the BCB assistance.
The Board’s initiative, covering 1432 men and 288 women cricketers, was taken at the advice of BCB President Nazmul Hassan, MP as a token of support to cricketers affected by the disruption to domestic competitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The players selected to receive the incentive are from various domestic events under the jurisdiction of the Board including the Dhaka Premier League, Dhaka First, Second and Third Division leagues, Women’s National, Emerging and Under-19 teams, Women’s National Cricket League, Premier Division and First Division leagues.
Bangladesh includes Shoriful in Test squad
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) included left-arm uncapped pacer Shoriful Islam in the Test squad as they announced a 15-member squad on Tuesday for the first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting from April 21 at Kandy.
BCB had earlier announced a 21-member preliminary squad for this series and the whole team is travelling to Sri Lanka.
Also read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Recap of the Key Test Records
Shoriful played a total of eight First-class matches and bagged 22 wickets. He represented Bangladesh in three T20Is and scalped two wickets.
Yasir Ali is also a part of this squad, who is yet to get his Test cap. He, however, was a part of the main squad during the West Indies series earlier this year at home.
Right-arm pace-bowler Taskin Ahmed made a comeback to the Test squad after a gap of three years. He played his last Test back in 2017 against South Africa at Potchefstroom. The 26-year-old pace played five Test so far but failed to cement his place in the national team for the red-ball cricket.
Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan and pace-bowler Mustafizur Rahman are missing from this squad as they are busy playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
Bangladesh captain Momimun Haque said they will rely more on the pace-bowling attack in this series.
Also read:Tigers reach Kandy for Sri Lanka Tests
“We will field a pacer-dominated bowling attack in this Test,” Mominul said in the pre-series virtual press conference. “I don’t think it will reduce our chance to win the match. We have reliable pace-bowling attack consisting of experienced and new guys.”
Mominul Haque (Captain), Litton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Abu Jayed Rahi, Taijul Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Shoriful Islam
Akram hospitalised with Covid-19 symptoms
Former Bangladesh captain and current director of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Akram Khan, has been admitted to a hospital in the capital with Covid-19 symptoms.
Akram remained in isolation at his home as had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 10.
On Thursday, the former captain was admitted to the hospital out of precaution, Debashis Chowdhury, the chief physician of BCB, said.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh shatters single-day fatalities record with 101 deaths
One of Akram's family members told the media that the former captain had been suffering from a cough for the last few days. After carrying out his Covid-19 tests, the doctors advised him to get admitted to a hospital.
Due to the surge of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, the National Cricket League has been postponed after the first two rounds.
Also read: South Asia fast becoming new global epicentre of Covid-19: IFRC
The country is now undergoing a week-long "strict" lockdown to curb the transmission of Covid-19. The new restrictions will continue until April 21.
Earlier, the government had imposed another week-long lockdown from April 5.
U-19 cricket series between Bangladesh and Pakistan postponed
Due to the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the country, the Under-19 cricket series between Bangladesh and Pakistan has been postponed indefinitely, confirmed Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury.
In this tour, Pakistan U-19 was scheduled to play a four-day and five one-day matches against their Bangladeshi counterparts.
Also read: BCB eyes long-term plan to prepare U-19 cricketers for future
“We have been in continuous communication with the Pakistan board. We will host the series at a convenient time in the coming months,” he told the reporters on Saturday.
“It’ll possible when we get a situation to host an international team, and we obviously try to host them as early as possible,” he further added.
Also read: World champion U-19 cricketers to get Tk1 lakh each per month
A weeklong lockdown to curb the transmission of Covid-19 was imposed in Bangladesh on April 5 which will come to an end on Sunday. But it apparently is proved to be ineffective as it was unplanned as according to the expert. The government had to backtrack some decisions during the lockdown.
Now, the authority has announced that a stricter lockdown will be enforced from April 14 when except for some emergency services, everything will remain closed.
Shadow of uncertainty hangs over domestic cricket season
The pandemic came and marched on; as it lingered for more than a year the chance of domestic cricket taking place last season withered with that.
Many cricketers, who are not part of the national team set-ups, were left helpless as they have no other source of income other than the one they get from playing in the domestic circuit.
Those cricketers found a flicker of hope when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to host the National Cricket League (NCL) last month. But the light went out as the NCL was put on hold after two rounds in the wake of a recent spike in Covid-19 deaths and cases.
At least five cricketers, who played the first round of the event, tested positive for Covid-19. So, the board has stepped forward to limit the cricketers' movements off the field.
Earlier, the BCB had decided to host the league in only two venues – Cox's Bazar and BKSP – instead of four. But the Cox's Bazar authority limited the movement of people in the area to stop the spread of the virus.
Unable to manage venues, the board decided to halt the league for one week, which created fresh concerns among many cricketers, who have started thinking that the league might not resume.
"The national team players will be able to survive for a year even if they do not get money from the board. They are established cricketers," Anamul Haque Bijoy, the opener who is out of the national team now, told the media on Saturday.
Also read; Hapless Bangladesh still searching for answers in Test cricket
"But those who are out of the national team set-ups or did not play for the national side yet will suffer a lot if there is no domestic cricket. Those are heavily reliant on cricketing activities at the lower tiers of the game – the first division, second division, third division or the academies— will suffer a lot," he added.
There are at least 20 cricketers in every NCL team, and they also have a few members in the support staff. It means, at least 200 players and support staff take part in NCL. So, it is tough to manage a bio-secure bubble for so many people.
Tigresses awarded Test status
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Friday awarded Test status to the Bangladesh Women's cricket team.
Along with the Tigresses, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe women's teams were also awarded the Test status.
It was decided in the latest meeting of ICC that Test status would be granted to all women's teams of the full-member nations of the ICC.
Also read: Women cricketers join individual training programme
Right after the decision was made public, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing chairman Shafiul Alam Nadel said the Tigress might play their inaugural Test this year.
"It's great that the ICC has decided to grant us the Test status," he told the media. "But it'll take some time to schedule our inaugural Test. But we hope to play our first Test this year."
Also read: Bangladesh’s women cricketers on a roll
Bangladesh all-rounder Rumana Ahmed said, "This is big news for the country. We are now a Test-playing nation in women's cricket. I believe getting the Test status will help Bangladesh women's cricket scale new heights," she said via a video message sent to the media from BCB.
With the inclusion of three new teams, the number of women's Test teams has reached 13. The other Test-playing women's teams are – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies and the Netherlands.
Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time
Covid-19: BCB postpones NCL after round 2
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Thursday decided to postpone the ongoing Bangabandhu National Cricket League (NCL), taking stock of the Covid-19 situation in the country.
Due to the recent surge in Covid-19 infections and fatalities, the BCB had decided to host NCL in only two venues – Cox's Bazar and BKSP.
But the Cox's Bazar authority imposed different restrictions including on the use of public transport. So, the board opted to postpone the league after the end of the two rounds.
Also read: NCL: Rajshahi pull off record win
"It's a precautionary step, and a temporary move," BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told the media on Thursday. "NCL is a first-class event and eight teams are contesting in this league in more than one venue. So the things are more challenging here."
Nizamuddin also said the league would be resumed as soon as possible. He, however, did not mention any estimated time frame.
Also read: Zakir, Nazmul best performers of NCL 1st round
At least seven cricketers including Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, Shadman Islam and Akbar Ali tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the league.
Mustafizur gets BCB nod to play in IPL
Bangladesh’s left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman was cleared by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Mustafizur, who previously played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, will play this season for Rajasthan Royals who roped him in from the auction earlier this year for Rs 1 crore.
Also read: Shakib reaches Kolkata to play IPL
A BCB official confirmed UNB that the board has allowed Mustafizur to take part in IPL 2021. It means that the pacer will not be available for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Mustafizur is now the second Bangladeshi player after Shakib Al Hasan who has secured BCB’s permission to play IPL skipping a Test series.
Also read: Six cities to host games as IPL returns to India
The pacer got inducted into IPL back in 2016 when he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad. Riding on his tremendous bowling efforts, the Sunrisers won the title that year, and Mustafizur got the award of the emerging player of the season.
However, he was comparatively lean in the field when he played for the Mumbai Indians.
Tamim Iqbal, Hasan Mahmud to return home Sunday
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and right-arm pacer Hasan Mahmud will arrive in Dhaka by 10 pm on Sunday, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed on Saturday.
Tamim has cleared earlier that he won’t be available for the three-match T20 series against New Zealand due to personal reasons while Hasan Mahmud has been suffering from a back injury since the second game of the three-match ODI series.
Hasan, a 21-year-old pacer, played the ODI series opener in Dunedin. In the same game, he sustained a blow on his back, and he will need more time to get rid of this injury. After returning home, he will be under observation of the BCB medical team.
Bangladesh lost the ODI series in New Zealand 3-0. They failed to pass the 200-run mark in the first and the last game. In the second game of the series, they posted 271 runs but failed to seal the match.
Also read: We need some big partnerships: Tamim Iqbal
Tamim, Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah Riyad hit a fifty each in the ODI series while Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed bowled some good spells which are the only positive things that Bangladesh can take forward.
The Tigers will now take on the hosts for a three-match T20 series starting on March 28, with the remaining two games will take place on March 30 and April 1 at McLean Park, Napier and Eden Park, Auckland.
After this series, Bangladesh scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series against the hosts. As per the schedule, both Tests will be played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy with the first match taking place from April 21 to April 25 and the second match from April 29 to May 3.
Also read: Bangladesh includes Hasan Mahmud in Test squad against WI series
Before the series begins, the Bangladesh team will play an intra-squad game at Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Ground, Katunayake. This tour was originally scheduled to take place in September last year. But due to the Covid-19 situation and strict quarantine condition in the island nation, the series was postponed.