Abdullah Al Mehdi

Rana is a sensation unlike any before in Bangladesh cricket.

The first thing that stands out about Lamine Yamal is not flair, nor is it raw skill or a penchant for trying the unobvious. It is the calm -- an eerie, composed serenity that completely belies his age.

Mosaddek Hossain, averaging 77.5 and scoring at a strike rate of 129 in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, has been rewarded with an ODI call-up after almost four years. Ahead of his selection for Bangladesh's first two ODIs of the upcoming three-match series against Australia, the all-rounder talked about the difficulties of batting in the lower middle order and struggles during an interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi. The excerpts are as follows: 

Unlike the preceding election during Aminul Islam Bulbul’s tenure, there was no strict requirement this time to nominate councillors from ad hoc committees.

Pace is power in Test cricket, and Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto is beginning to reap its rewards. With Bangladesh’s 104-run win over Pakistan in the first Test in Mirpur, Shanto equalled Mushfiqur Rahim as the captain with the most Test wins for the Tigers, with seven victories.

Rana getting the old ball to talk had even surprised his captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das.

Aggression is one thing, but controlled aggression is a different kind of menace. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s century against Pakistan on Friday in Mirpur on Day 1 of the first of two Tests, part of the World Test Championship, was a perfect example of the latter.

Ball by ball, step by step, Rana was pure bliss to watch at the Mirpur practice nets on Tuesday.

The fuller delivery, like the short ones, created surprise, with some deliveries striking the bat rather than the bat meeting it.

Shanto spoke about navigating that lean phase, whether stepping away from captaincy influenced his batting and more, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi.

Will Young was among the more experienced players in an otherwise inexperienced New Zealand ODI squad that suffered a 2-1 defeat in the recently concluded three-match series against hosts Bangladesh. Arriving in Bangladesh after a successful tour of India, Young and his side encountered tougher batting conditions and a hostile pace attack. The New Zealand number three spoke about the conditions, Bangladesh’s bowling threats, and more in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi. The excerpts are as follows:

“There are no warm-up balls -- he's always on the money from ball one.” That was how New Zealand’s standout batter on the day, Nick Kelly, summed up Nahid Rana’s performance in Mirpur yesterday.

Bangladesh batter Soumya Sarkar looked in sublime touch during yesterday afternoon’s practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, timing the ball sweetly in the nets alongside Afif Hossain and Saif Hassan.

While it appeared that the club crisis was at an end after Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) held a meeting with councillors from the revolting clubs on Thursday, even setting a tentative date for the start of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), it now seems like there are a few loose ends that need to be tied up.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul returned to the country yesterday after spending over a month in Australia, during which a few intriguing developments took place. National Sports Council (NSC) formed an investigation committee to look into the BCB elections, the board responded with a statement, appearing to be in conflict with NSC over the probe and all the while domestic cricket remained static.

Bangladesh T20I team all-rounder Shamim Hossain was batting to throwdowns yesterday evening at Mirpur’s Academy Ground, seemingly going through his motions.

Club cricket crisis in Bangladesh further deepened yesterday after nine women’s first division clubs sent a letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), asking for the Dhaka First Division Women’s Cricket League to be postponed to next year.

Bangladesh will tour Australia for a two-Test series in August for the first time in 23 years, ending one of the longest gaps in the Tigers’ red-ball history.

Bangladesh cricketers have been enjoying a rare extended time off after the Odommo Bangladesh T20 Cup, which ended on February 9. While the pangs of missing out on the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka is still raw, most of the players are using this break to spend time with family. One of them, the 24-year-old speedster Shoriful Islam, talked to The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi about the ongoing World Cup and how he is spending time away from cricket during an exclusive interview.

Bangladesh’s cricket community was left shocked and unsettled by some recent remarks from Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul, in which he appeared to shift responsibility for the country’s decision to not participate in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka onto the board and the players.