Abdullah Al Mehdi

‘Now I only give salamis’

For Jaker, this year was a special Eid. The hardworking middle-order batter talked about his time away from cricket during past Eids and his inspirations in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi.

1w ago

‘Fear factor’ behind Tigresses’ disappointing show

Bangladesh women’s cricket team entered their first-ever bilateral series against Australia on a high following a good run of results in recent series against India and Pakistan at home and South Africa away. Following a 77-run loss in the third T20I which saw Australia whitewash Bangladesh in both ODI and T20I series, Bangladesh head coach Hashan Tillakaratne talked to The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi on the Tigresses' difficult road ahead, with India series and Asia Cup to come before the T20 World Cup at home.

2w ago

‘I felt Hathurusingha wanted to do a bit of dictatorship’

In Bangladesh cricket, team director appears to be a role only required in away series or major tournaments. Thus, Khaled Mahmud is now a former team director. He saw how the team fared in last year's ODI World Cup. The former national team captain in an exclusive interview with The Daily Star's Abdullah Al Mehdi, talked about recent controversy regarding things said in the World Cup probe report, his own role and about head coach Chandika Hathurusingha.

Tigers lose series as Lankan rivalry fuels

Bangladesh succumbed to a 28-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Sylhet yesterday, failing to win their first-ever T20I series against the island nation.

From Mahmudullah to Jaker: Finishers’ arduous road in Bangladesh cricket

The tale of cricketers who had functioned as finishers in Bangladesh T20 cricket history is a short and painful one. To perceive the difficulty of Jaker Ali Anik’s task, one would have to look no further than Mahmudullah Riyad.

BPL’s foreign players’ payment: A murky business?

Around 80 foreign players have featured in the ongoing 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), with their contracts ranging from 20,000 to 80,000 dollars, but the payment process of these players is cloudy with conflicting statements coming from parties involved.

Was Mushfiqur forced to retire from T20Is?

Bangladesh's star batter Mushfiqur Rahim has hinted that he was forced to retire from T20I format. The 36-year-old veteran had retired from T20Is on September 4, 2022 following the Asia Cup in UAE, just ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia that year.

Will WC probe report see light of day?

The 2023 ODI World Cup ended three months ago, with Bangladesh suffering their worst outing in the event since 2003. It led to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) forming a three-member committee to assess the performances of the Tigers, but will the report see the light of the day?

February 2, 2024
February 2, 2024

An Aussie ready to rain sixes with self-made bats

“I’ve just found my new favourite player. I love him!” said Adam Gilchrist, one of Australia’s most destructive batters ever, after watching Big Bash League (BBL) sensation Josh Brown in action.

February 1, 2024
February 1, 2024

Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib feels 'at home' in Bangladesh

Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib has been in fantastic hitting form, as evidenced by his performance in the recent India series. Thus the 32-year-old's inclusion in the Durdanto Dhaka roster has injected new life into the franchise's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) campaign. During an interview with Abdullah Al Mehdi of The Daily Star, Naib discusses the Bangladesh players, Afghanistan's ODI World Cup exploits last year, and why Afghan players are in demand in global franchise leagues.

January 26, 2024
January 26, 2024

‘A coach has to get the stick out at times’

Dav Whatmore was more like an angry young man during his stint as the Bangladesh coach from 2003 to 2007. This time, he is in charge of Fortune Barishal as technical director. During an interview with Abdullah Al Mehdi of The Daily Star, the Australian shared his views on coaching, the national team's success curve and importance of a strong selection panel.

January 24, 2024
January 24, 2024

'Master' Babar shows why franchises incline towards quality

Players like Babar provide the type of quality that franchises can bank upon.

January 22, 2024
January 22, 2024

Sylhet get some Fizz before Mash masterclass

After Fizz bowled a length delivery that zipped away from the stumps, Mash motioned with a swivel of his hips that it would be flicked for six.

January 17, 2024
January 17, 2024

Comilla’s BPL future uncertain

As things stand, the broadcasting rights are still difficult to sell and franchises do not have a share of tickets which hinders branding.

December 31, 2023
December 31, 2023

'Don’t see anything coming to an end'

Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is entering a new chapter in his life as he is contesting in the national polls from Magura-1. For Shakib, cricket will have to take a backseat for a while. Still new to his political career, he was not keen on some of the hard questions on both politics and cricket. However, during an interview with Abdullah Al Mehdi of The Daily Star, Shakib did say things that somewhat contradicted his original stance about not featuring in the next ODI World Cup and the national team captaincy issue, which gained steam as of late with many suggesting a change in leadership, especially since Najmul Hossain Shanto did bring promising results in his short stint as an an interim skipper.

December 30, 2023
December 30, 2023

Too new to talk about democracy

Having secured the Awami League nomination from Magura-1 for the January 7 national election, Bangladesh’s most famous cricketer has turned his focus to the political field.

December 12, 2023
December 12, 2023

Watcher Ravindra's key is team environment

New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra did not exactly hit the ground running on his international breakout but went on to become one of the standout performers in his debut World Cup, setting records in his own way. The 24-year-old had a quiet tour of Bangladesh, not getting a game in the Test series but he has been keeping a keen eye on things. As he spoke with Abdullah Al Mehdi of The Daily Star after the recently concluded second Test, he discussed the Kiwi side's atmosphere, a terrific maiden World Cup, the Mirpur wicket, and more.

November 3, 2023
November 3, 2023

A World Cup of top-order domination

The biggest facet, and also a noticeable one, of this World Cup has been top-order carnage that has not only allowed teams to put on huge scores batting first but also made it more important than ever for top-order batters to assert their dominance in their approach of chasing down the big targets thrown at them.

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