India, the finalists of the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and winners of last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will look to make an impact in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy from the word go by getting one over Bangladesh in their tournament opener. The side are no strangers to success in the global event, having previously secured CT title wins in 2002 (co-winners with Sri Lanka) and 2013, as per a press release from ICC.

But this time around, Rohit Sharma’s side will be without their finest bowling asset and the ‘National Treasure’ as dubbed by batter Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and have banked on a spin-heavy setup to get the job done for them in the tournament.

Their opponents first up are also good exponents of spin and have the capacity to dish out a surprise in big events. The Tigers will take inspiration from their 2007 50-over World Cup heroics against India and will back their experienced players to come good on Thursday.

*Recent form:

India: The tournament fancies enter the Champions Trophy in fine touch, after a wildly successful recent white-ball run against England. Hosts India clean-swept the visitors 3-0 in the ODI series that recently ended.

Before that, India handled England comfortably in the pair’s five-game T20I series, winning 4-1. Those seven wins, all in the last month, should give the squad confidence.

Bangladesh: Reading the form is not as straightforward with the Tigers. The national side had not played any cricket since December, when they toured the West Indies.

Bangladesh were comprehensively beaten in the three-match ODI series with the Windies, losing 3-0. They saved face somewhat by claiming all three T20Is in the Caribbean that followed the One-Day International cricket. In November, before they toured the West Indies, Bangladesh went down 2-1 to Afghanistan in an ODI series in the UAE.

Players in focus:

India: Arshdeep Singh

With Jasprit Bumrah unavailable for India, there will be an added spotlight on the team’s bowling attack. But heading into the tournament, there is optimism that 26-year-old left-armer Arshdeep Singh can handle new ball duties and potentially step into the incredibly large shoes left by Jasprit, who is recovering from a back injury. In nine ODIs of his career, he has taken 14 wickets at an average of 23.00.

Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz

The 27-year-old all-rounder is at the peak of his powers and will need to deliver in all departments for the Tigers to make a dent at the Champions Trophy. From the aforementioned West Indies tour in December, Mehidy Hasan Miraz smoked 152 runs across three ODIs with an average of 50.66, striking at 84.91. He also claimed eight combined wickets across the T20I series in the Caribbean.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Bangladesh: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.

Bangladesh have left their experienced duo of Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan out of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 squad. Bangladesh released a statement to announce the 15-member squad for next month’s highly-anticipated tournament. The high-profile axing of players comes on the back of Litton’s dry run of form. In the ODIs, the wicketkeeper batter has struggled to post a single fifty in his last 13 innings. During this run in the last seven innings, he has been dismissed for single-digit scores six times.

Shakib’s exclusion comes amid his suspension from bowling in ICC events. Due to an illegal bowling action, the 37-year-old was suspended from bowling in top-flight cricket. He recently failed the second test of independent assessment of his action.

Apart from Litton and Shakib, other notable exclusions in Bangladesh’s squad are all-rounder Afif Hossain and the pace duo of Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud.

Experienced middle-order batter Mahmudullah has retained his place in the squad. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain will be the two frontline spinners for Bangladesh.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has returned to the ODI fold as the skipper of the side after missing the West Indies tour due to a hamstring injury last November. Other notable returnees in Bangladesh’s squad include Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy and Mustafizur Rahman.

The most notable inclusion in Bangladesh’s squad features Parvez Hossai Emon, who has been handed his maiden ODI call-up. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper has seven T20I outings under his belt, scoring 88 runs at an average of 12.57.

Young prodigy and pace gun Nahid Rana, who made his debut in the format in the recent series against the West Indies, has been included in the squad. In three ODI appearances, the Bangladesh tearaway has four scalps, averaging 31.50 with an economy of 4.72.

Bangladesh will face the last edition’s finalist in their campaign opener in Dubai on February 20.

Bangladesh squad for Champions Trophy: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana.

In a dramatic turn of events during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Tuesday in Shere Bangla National Stadium, Australian player Tom O’Connell, representing the Chittagong Kings, found himself at the centre of a rare and controversial dismissal, as per Wisden. O’Connell was sent in to bat at No. 7 after the fall of Haider Ali’s wicket in the seventh over. However, there was a significant delay between Haider’s dismissal and O’Connell’s appearance at the crease. The prolonged wait led to growing impatience among the Khulna Tigers fielders and curious glances from the Kings’ dugout.

Commentators noted the unexpected flurry of wickets that had caused the delay. Eventually, O’Connell hurried out from the glass doors, attempting to reach the crease in time. By this point, the umpires were already discussing the situation with Khulna Tigers’ captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Mehidy, checking the umpire’s wristwatch, signalled that they wished to continue with their appeal for a timed-out dismissal, the report said.

The umpires then declared O’Connell out, lifting a finger to signal the scorers, based on clause 40.1 of the BPL playing conditions, which aligns with men’s T20I regulations. This rule mandates that an incoming batter must be ready to face the next delivery within 30 seconds of the previous batter’s dismissal or retirement, failing which they can be timed out.

As O’Connell dejectedly walked off the field, Mehidy reconsidered and spoke to the umpires again, ultimately calling O’Connell back to bat. The commentators praised Mehidy for upholding the spirit of cricket.

However, the drama didn’t end there. On the very first ball O’Connell faced, he hit it straight to Mehidy.

This incident was particularly notable as Mehidy had been part of the Bangladesh team that appealed for a time-out against Angelo Mathews during the previous year’s ODI World Cup, a decision that sparked considerable debate within the cricket community.

Stand-in captain Litton Das has expressed his willingness to take Bangladesh’s long-term captaincy if offered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Litton-led side clean swept West Indies 3-0 in the T20I series at Kingstown on Thursday to avenge their humiliating 3-0 drubbing in the ODI series. The opening batter stood up to take up the leadership role in the absence of the injured Najmul Hossain Shanto on the Carribean tour. Bangladesh handed Mehidy Hasan Miraz the captaincy of the ODI and Test teams, but for T20Is, the board turned to Litton, who impressed by skillfully managing his resources during the series sweep.

The BCB is reportedly seeking a long-term captain for T20Is, especially given Najmul’s form in the format. Initially, Najmul declined the captaincy role but later reconsidered after BCB president Faruque Ahmed intervened. However, his plans to lead in any format were halted due to an injury he sustained after being named captain for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.

“As far as captaincy is concerned, if the BCB asks me to lead then I am ready to do it because there is no reason (not to) and I am enjoying it,” Litton told reporters after the win on Thursday.

“I take a lot of decisions on the field from the experience that I have got playing for so long and the skill that the bowlers developed it is easier to run the show on the field.

“As a captain, I never said that you give everything (on the field). All I said was that they (West Indies) are a better side and on their day they can destroy at their home ground and so the information was like we will go and enjoy the cricket and whatever the result we will take that with a smiling face and we will try to fulfill our responsibility,” he added.

Litton attributed the team’s success to the exceptional performance of the bowling unit, noting that their ability to take responsibility, such as setting their own fields, has made his role as captain much easier.

“Overall if I have to say our bowling attack was outstanding and the way they bowled in three formats, both the pacers and spinners. I was behind the wickets and I was feeling good as every batter was struggling,” he said.

“The thing is that if the bowlers bowl well, behind the wickets it gets easier for me and like I said the bowlers know what kind of field set-up they need so it’s easy for me.

“Look, they are a better side and I would say that and on their home ground they are a good side. But, when five bowlers bowl well and from top to bottom we have a balanced batting unit – I won’t say we have an destructive batting unit but we have a balanced side – and if we can put some runs on the board I feel the bowlers are developing their skill and every match the bowlers took responsibility on their own. They are doing their own field set-up and learning a lot of things and I feel that it is good sign,” he added.

–IANS

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After three consecutive ODI defeats, Bangladesh finally returned to winning ways with a narrow 7-run victory over the West Indies in the 1st T20I at Arnos Vale Ground. The West Indies managed to make it out a nail-biting affair, courtesy of skipper Rovman Powell’s blitzkrieg, But in reality, the hosts never really recovered from the damage caused by Mahedi Hasan in the powerplay. While chasing a modest 148-run total, the Caribbean side faced problems as Mahedi made early inroads through their batting lineup.

The West Indies had already lost Brandon King before Mahedi was introduced to bowl in the powerplay. In his second delivery of the match, Mahedi caught the big fish, Nicholas Pooran. He invited him to step out of the crease to have a go at him. Pooran shimmered down the crease, went for a swing and missed the ball, which held a straight trajectory. The explosive batter was well short of the crease as Litton gathered the ball and dislodged the bails in a jiffy.

West Indies found reprieve in the next over with Johnson Charles going berserk against Tanzim Hasan Sakib. He tonked two sixes and followed it up with a crisp four to accumulate 25 runs from the over.

But the impending end from Mahedi ended Charles’ deal with the boundaries. The opener took the aerial route, but the desired elevation was something that was missed dearly. The ball landed in Hasan Mahmud’s hands at mid-off.

With the West Indies tottering at run-a-ball 36 and three wickets down after the first six overs, Mahedi dealt a massive blow to make their chase a lost cause.

He delivered a match-defining over to remove Andre Fletcher for a four-ball duck and then Roston Chase for 7(13). With the West Indies looking down and out at 39/5, Powell knew his side needed something special from him.

Powell kept the hopes alive with Romario Shepherd playing the second fiddle to his skipper. The duo paced their knocks according to the situation and brought down the equation to 20 needed in 18 balls.

With victory once again in sight, Bangladesh pacers held their nerves to see off the game. Taskin Ahmed removed Shepherd (22), but Powell’s threat continued to loom in the atmosphere.

In the final over, Hasan Mahmud had 10 runs to defend while facing Powell. Mahmud bowled it wide, and Powell went for a flashy drive. He only found an outside edge, which was taken by the wicketkeeper. Mahmud castled Alzarri Joseph to seal a 7-run victory for Bangladesh.

Earlier in the match, after being put to bat by the hosts, Bangladesh needed moments of individual brilliance to find their way to 147/6. Soumya Sarkar played a blistering knock of 43(32), while Jaker Ali (27), Mahedi (26*) and Shamim Hossain (27) made invaluable contributions towards the end, which took the visitors to a fighting total.

Sherfane Rutherford in action© AFP

Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Some dogged batting ensured that Bangladesh saved the follow-on before bad light brought a premature end to the third day of the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua on Sunday.

Starting the day on 40-2 in reply to the West Indies’ 450 for nine declared, the Bangladesh batters crawled their way to 269 for nine, past the follow-on mark but still trailing by 181 runs.

Kemar Roach removed Shahadat Hossain during the morning for 18 but Mominul Haque dug in with Litton Das to add 62 for the fourth wicket.

Mominul brought up his 50 from 115 balls before falling leg before to the next delivery he faced from Jayden Seales. Das went on to make 40 before chopping on to Shamar Joseph.

When Mehidy Hasan Miraz (23) fended Alzarri Joseph to short-leg, Bangladesh had slumped to 166 for five, in serious danger of following on.

Jaker Ali and Taijul Islam steadied the ship, adding 68 for the seventh wicket before Jaker, who made a half-century against South Africa in his only other Test in October, reached his second half-century.

Shortly after, he fell for 53 to the medium pace of Justin Greaves whose undefeated 115 was the highlight of the West Indies first innings.

Alzarri Joseph returned to bowl Taijul for 25 and finish the day as West Indies’ most successful bowler with 3-69.

Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud took them past the follow-on but Bangladesh will have their work cut out to avoid defeat in this first Test of this two-Test series.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a cracking century and Azmatullah Omarzai showed allround skills on Monday to give Afghanistan a five wicket victory in the third ODI and a series win over Bangladesh. Omarzai took four wickets before hitting an undefeated 77-ball 70 and Opener Gurbaz hit a 120-ball 101 as Afghanistan chased down a 245-run target in 48.2 overs in Sharjah. Bangladesh were lifted to 244-8 by Mohammad Mahmudullah, run out off the last ball of the innings for run-a-ball 98, and a solid 66 by stand-in skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

The victory gave Afghanistan a 2-1 win in the series in Sharjah. Afghanistan won the first match by 92 runs while Bangladesh took the second by 68 runs.

The series win is Afghanistan’s third successive this year, having also beaten Ireland (2-0) and South Africa (2-1) following their wins over England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in last year’s World Cup in India.

Bangladesh pacers Mustafizur Rahman (2-50) and Nahid Rana (2-40) had jolted Afghanistan to 84-3 before Gurbaz and Omarzai added 100 for the fourth wicket.

Gurbaz, who hit seven sixes and five boundaries in his eighth ODI century, fell in the 39th over with 61 needed as Bangladesh pressed. 

Omarzai hit five sixes and three boundaries added 58 runs with Mohammad Nabi (27-ball 34) to avoid any turnaround, hitting the winning six.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was proud of his team.

“I am very happy as a captain,” said Shahidi. “When we lost the toss we were a bit worried because it’s tough to bat second in Sharjah but our batters did very well.”

Miraz praised Afghanistan

“I think credit goes to Afghanistan the way they played in this series,” said Miraz. “Gurbaz and Omarzai did very well and we couldn’t get wickets to win the match.”

Earlier, Bangladesh, without injured skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, were given a sound 53-run start by Soumya Sarkar (24) and Tanzid Hasan (19) before four wickets fell in for 19 runs in 38 balls.

Mahmudullah and Miraz repaired the innings with a 155-run fifth wicket stand as they blunted Afghanistan spinners, who managed just two wickets between them.

Miraz became one of Omarzai’s victim in the 46th over but Mahmudullah continued to bat solidly till he was run out off the last ball, trying to sneak a second run.

Mahmudullah hit three sixes and seven fours while Miraz’s 119-ball knock contained four fours.

Omarzai took a career best 4-37, improving on his 3-56 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele earlier this year.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named Najmul Hossain Shanto as captain for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Sharjah next week, in a shakeup following Shanto’s request to step down from all-format captaincy. The decision came after a discussion between Shanto and BCB president Faruque Ahmed on Thursday following Bangladesh’s recent Test in Chattogram. Though Shanto will lead the squad against Afghanistan, the BCB has yet to announce a long-term decision on his captaincy or the squad for the West Indies tour later in November, where Bangladesh will play two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is.

As Shanto’s vice-captain for the Afghanistan series, Mehidy Hasan Miraz is seen as a leading candidate for future captaincy, with Taskin Ahmed also considered a strong option. Both players are in the ODI squad for the Afghanistan series and have shown leadership potential. Taskin, with his pace and experience, has been a mainstay in Bangladesh’s bowling attack, while Miraz’s all-round abilities make him a versatile asset.

The 22-year-old uncapped pacer Nahid Rana is set to make his debut in the ODI format. Known for his impressive pace and bounce, Rana has taken 26 wickets in List A cricket at an average of 16.46, adding fresh talent to the squad. Also returning to the team are opener Zakir Hasan and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed. Zakir, who has played a single ODI and 12 Tests, will add depth to the top order, while Nasum brings spin options, having last represented Bangladesh in the 2022 World Cup.

The squad, however, will be missing a few key names. Shakib Al Hasan, one of Bangladesh’s star players, has voluntarily stepped down from consideration for this series. Litton Das, sidelined by a fever that kept him out of the recent Chattogram Test, is also unavailable. Anamul Haque, Taijul Islam, and Hasan Mahmud, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, will not join the team either.

The Bangladesh squad will depart for Dubai in two groups over the weekend, with matches scheduled for November 6, 9, and 11 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh’s ODI squad

Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana