BCB
Shakib cancels contract with Betwinner News after BCB warning
All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan cancelled his contract with Betwinner News after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took a stern position against his contract with the betting company brand.
"Shakib sent us a letter confirming the cancellation of his contract with that company," BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told UNB Thursday.
According to BCB's regulation, no cricketer can work for any organisation that is involved in betting-related activities.
Also, every player needs to take the permission of the board before partnering with any organisation as an ambassador. But Shakib did not do so while teaming up with Betwinner News.
Read: BCB to Shakib: Quit Betwinner News or get out of national team
"We have a zero-tolerance policy against betting and betting-related activities," BCB President Nazmul Hassan Papon told the media earlier in the day. "If Shakib continues his contract with the betting organisation, we will not consider him for the national team."
Meanwhile, the BCB is yet to announce the Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup due to its issue with Shakib.
Nazmul said the board will announce the squad by Saturday.
BCB to Shakib: Quit Betwinner News or get out of national team
Bangladesh’s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan faces being axed from the national team unless he terminates his controversial contract with Betwinner News, which is a surrogate promotion of online betting and gaming portal Betwinner.
The stern warning came on Thursday from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan amid a stand-off over the star cricketer’s deal with the controversial organization.
“If Shakib continues with the Betwinner News the board will not consider him for the national team,” said Nazmul.
The BC had been caught off guard after the star player’s recent admission that he joined the Betwinner News as its brand ambassador . He defended his decision saying the organization has nothing to do with betting.
According to BCB’s regulation, no cricketer is allowed to work with any organization that is involved in betting-related activities. BCB’s regulation also mandates every cricketer to inform it prior to making any business contract with any organization, which Shakib failed to do before his contract with Betwinner News.
Read: Who can replace Shakib Al Hasan in Bangladesh Cricket Team?
“We have a zero-tolerance policy against betting and betting-related activities,” Nazmul told the media on Thursday. “If he continues his contract with that organization, we will not consider him for the national team.”
He also added that the board has asked Shakib to clear his position on whether he is going to cancel this contract or not, and the all-rounder is set to inform the board about the same by today (Thursday, USA time).
Shakib is currently staying in the USA with his family.
Shakib was previously banned by the ICC due to his continuous contact with a proven book-maker and not reporting it to the respective authority. He was also banned by the BCB for his continuous misbehaving off and on the field.
Meanwhile, BCB is yet to announce Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup due to the issue with Shakib. Nazmul said the board will announce the squad by Saturday.
He confirmed that Liton Das, Nurul Hasan Sohana and Yasir Ali Rabbi will not be part of the Bangladesh team due to injuries. While Liton and Sohan sustained injuries in the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Yasir got a blow during Bangladesh’s tour of the West Indies.
BCB to serve notice to Shakib for partnering with Betwinner News
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan said they will serve a show cause notice to all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who recently announced a partnership with an organisation which is a part of betting site Betwinner.
According to the BCB's regulations, no player can partner with an organisation whose business is related to tobacco, alcohol or betting.
Shakib recently posted an image of himself on his social media page wearing a jersey of Betwinner News, an organisation of Betwinner. "I am proud to announce my new official partnership with Betwinner News!" Shakib wrote.
Read:Shakib Al Hasan becomes brand ambassador of Oppo
"He didn't ask for our permission," Nazmul told the reporters Thursday. "We cannot allow a player to partner with an organisation involved in betting."
"We are not sure if Shakib signed a contract with such an organisation. If he had signed a contract with them, we will serve him a show cause notice."
According to BCB regulations, every player needs to take the permission of the board before partnering with any organisation as an ambassador. But Shakib did not do so while teaming up with Betwinner News.
The International Cricket Council banned the all-rounder in 2018 for "failing to report corrupt approaches." He accepted three charges relating to requests for "inside information for betting purposes."
Bangladesh are now playing a three-match ODI series against hosts Zimbabwe. The series is set to begin Friday. Shakib is not part of this series. He is currently on leave for personal reasons.
BCB yet to name a captain for Asia Cup
With only 23 days left for this year's T20 Asia Cup, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to name a captain for the national team.
BCB President Nazmul Hasan said they will announce a new captain for the Asia Cup within the next few days.
"We have a few names to consider and also have Mahmudullah Riyad on our list," Nazmul told the media after a board meeting Thursday.
Nazmul hinted that they have four names on their list: Shakib Al Hasan, Riyad, Nurul Hasan Sohan and Liton Das.
Read: Asia Cup 2022 Schedule: Groups, full fixtures, venues
Ahead of the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh named wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan Sohan as their T20I captain. He led Bangladesh in the first two matches of the series. During the second match of the series, he took a blow to his finger and was ruled out of the series.
Sohan is not a part of the Bangladesh team that will play a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, starting Friday.
The Asia Cup will begin on August 27 in the UAE. Bangladesh will play their first match against Afghanistan on August 30 and their second match on September 1 against Sri Lanka
BCB set to introduce regional cricket bodies
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is all set to introduce regional cricket bodies, BCB president Nazmul Hasan said after the annual general meeting of the board on Tuesday in Dhaka.
BCB was trying for a long time to establish regional cricket bodies, but the initiative remained stuck as there was no provision in BCB’s constitution to form regional cricket associations.
“We are all set to form regional cricket bodies,” Nazmul told the reporter after the meeting. “We hope we can finalize the guidelines soon.”
Nazmul also said that the board needed to amend the constitution of the board to add a provision so that they can introduce the initiative to establish cricket’s regional association.
“Currently, every cricket-related activity is controlled from Dhaka. But once we have the regional cricket bodies, every region will be able to decide what they need to do for the development of regional cricket,” Nazmul added.
After the latest development, every division of Bangladesh will get a regional cricket body except Mymensingh which will still be a part of Dhaka division. But Mymensing may have a separate team under their name in the National Cricket League competition, a BCB official confirmed.
But a guideline or a framework to form the regional cricket bodies is yet to be finalized.
The BCB president said it will take some time for the board to finalize a guideline. He, however, couldn't confirm how much time it would take.
Also read: Stokes chosen as England test captain
BCB also decided that every club that participates in the divisional cricket events, the premier division, and first, second and third division, will have at least a councillor.
Previously, some clubs have more than one councillor and some have no councillorship at all. A councillorship enables a club official to be a part of the general council of the BCB and every councillor has the right to vote or take part in the BCB election.
The board has introduced two committees— Bangladesh Tigers and Welfare — in the latest annual general meeting. While the Bangladesh Tigers committee is already operational, the Welfare committee will be announced soon.
The Bangladesh Tigers Committee is formed to look after a new bunch of players who are part of the Bangladesh Tigers team, and the Welfare Committee will work for the welfare of cricketers and the other related stakeholders.
BCB finalises next three BPL dates
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan has said they have finalised the dates of the upcoming three Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) seasons, starting in 2023.
The BCB often finds it difficult to find a suitable window for the BPL. If there are no fixed dates for the competition, the foreign players cannot take part in it due to their other professional commitments.
"To get rid of the recurring problem, we have fixed the dates for the next three seasons of this event," Nazmul told the reporters Sunday in Dhaka after a board meeting.
"We will sign contracts with the franchises for the next three years. And since we are doing it for three years, we have finalised the dates for three seasons so that the teams can prepare accordingly," he added.
Read: Is there any potential suitor to replace Tamim Iqbal in T20I cricket?
The next season of BPL will take place between January 5 and February 16 in 2023; the next two seasons will be played between January 6 and February and January 1 and February 11 in 2024 and 2025.
Nazmul also said the BPL 2023 is going to be a seven-team event. "The board will start working on finalising the franchises soon."
BCB plans to cut salary gap between male, female cricketers
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is planning to reduce the salary gap between male and female cricketers, said Jalal Yunus, chairman of the cricket operation of the board.
A male cricketer makes at least Tk2 lakh for taking part in a T20I match while a female cricketer earns Tk60,000 for playing at the highest level of cricket.
"We are thinking about increasing the salary of the female cricketers," Jalal told the media Thursday.
Also Read: BCB's Facebook page fills gap left by sports channels
"We have a department that works for the betterment of women's cricket. We have been discussing the women cricketers' salary for a while now and the board president also told us to raise their payments."
As the first cricket-playing nation, New Zealand has introduced equal pay for male and female cricketers. Now the other cricketing nations are also stepping forward to do so.
BCB's Facebook page fills gap left by sports channels
Spectators in Bangladesh will now be able to watch the Test match between the Tigers and the Caribbeans live on Facebook, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said Saturday.
The ongoing match in Antigua can be watched through the official Facebook page of the BCB – Bangladesh Cricket: The Tigers.
Read: BCB eyes to vaccinate domestic cricketers ahead of new season
However, the BCB did not confirm if the cricket fans can watch all the two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is the same way.
No Bangladeshi television channel showed interest in broadcasting the Test series, despite three channels masquerading as specialised sports broadcasters (T Sports, GTV, Channel 9).
It was the first time since 2001 that a Test match involving Bangladesh wasn't being broadcast in the country.
The only legal way to watch the series was the website of the ICC with a $2 subscription.
So, the new initiative of the BCB came as a relief for many fans who were unable to watch the match live on television.
Mustafiz should play Tests, not pick and choose: Khaled Mahmud
Former Bangladesh captain and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud has said left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman should play in all formats of cricket for the national team.
The pacer is currently busy playing the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals. He is the only Bangladeshi cricketer this year to take part in this event.
Bangladesh team is going to play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka this month. But Mustafizur is not a part of this series despite being one of the best pacers in the country. He rather will be busy playing in India.
Also read: Sri Lanka cricket team arrives in Dhaka Sunday
Taskin Ahmed, another pacer, who has been doing well since his return to the national team after the pandemic hiatus, is going to miss this series due to a leg injury which made Mustafizur’s absence an issue for Bangladesh.
“Mustafizur should play Tests because he is now at his peak,” Mahmud told the reporters on Saturday. “I won’t expect him in every Test Bangladesh play in a year, but he should play at least 6-7 Tests.”
Mustafizur played his last Test early last year against West Indies in Chattogram. He was not in the Bangladesh Test team since.
While signing the current national contract with BCB, Mustafizur made it clear that he would only play the white-ball cricket for the national team. He had said that it is tough for him to play every format of international cricket maintaining bio-secure bubbles.
In the upcoming series, neither Bangladesh nor Sri Lanka has to maintain a bubble, as BCB has already confirmed.
Also read: BCB announces 14-member squad for two-day practice match vs Sri Lanka
“We don’t have a lot of pace bowlers. So I think Mustafiz should play Tests,” Mahmud added. “The players like Shakib (Al Hasan) and Mushfiqur (Rahim) can skip a format because they now need some time to stay out of cricket. But Mustafiz is not like him. He is younger than them and he should play more cricket in this time of career.”
The first Test of the Sri Lanka series will take place in Chattogram from May 15 while the second Test will be played in Dhaka from May 23.
Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have announced their squad for this series. Sri Lanka are all set to arrive in Dhaka on Sunday. This two-match Test series is a part of the latest cycle of the ICC Test Championship.
BCB announces 14-member squad for two-day practice match vs Sri Lanka
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday announced a 14-member squad to play a two-day practice match against Sri Lanka at BKSP starting from May 10.
Mohammad Mithun, the right-handed batsman, will lead the BCB XI in this match. Anamul Haque Bijoy, who scored more than a thousand runs in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League this year, has been added to this team along with Mosaddek Hossain, Saif Hassan, Zakir Hasan and Abu Jayed Rahi.
The Sri Lanka cricket team will arrive in Bangladesh on Sunday morning for a two-match Test series which is a part of the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship.
Also read: 2022 BCB Central Contract: Players List
The first Test starts at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on May 15 while the second Test commences at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on May 23.
BCB XI for two-day practice match vs Sri Lanka:
Mohammad Mithun (Captain), Shadman Islam, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Zakir Hasan, Saif Hassan, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Rishad Hossain, Enamul Haque, Mushfique Hassan, Ripon Mondol, Mukidul Islam Mugdho, Amite Hassan, Abu Jayed Rahi.
Also read: BCB announces new central contract with Shakib in all formats