Al-Amin

Financial Irregularities: A chronic plague in BFF

The two-year ban on Bangladesh Football Federation General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag handed down by FIFA on Friday showcased how loosely the local football authority handles funds from the game’s world governing body.

Desert fest: This is Brazil

Brazil finally came to the party. They caressed the ball, dribbled it with playful mirth and passed it around with precision before burying it in the back of the South Korean net. Not once, but four times in a small matter of 36 minutes, turning Monday night’s World Cup Round of 16 contest into a cakewalk.

Desert fest: Confident Brazil move along amid mayhem

In what has so far been a roller coaster World Cup, record five-time champions Brazil remain unscathed after victories against two feisty European sides.

Our time to give back

They wanted recognition from a society resistant to women playing football. Coming from humble backgrounds and remote areas across the country, these girls trained in the protected boundaries of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarters day-in-day-out to prove a simple point: women are as good as men.

Indo-Bangladesh Transshipment: Execution proving tricky

The much-talked-about transshipment facility for Indian goods to its landlocked northeastern states using Bangladesh’s two seaports and inland waterways, roads and rail network has failed to take off in a big way due to the absence of proper infrastructure and awareness.

A win for the ages

It still seems unreal.

Will the BCB take responsibility?

Criticism has been so overflowing after a forgettable performance by Bangladesh in the ongoing T20 World Cup that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is also feeling the heat along with players and officials.

Conventional wisdom spells Tigers’ downfall

When Bangladesh posted an impressive 171 for four against Sri Lanka in their opening Super 12 game of the ICC T20 World Cup in Sharjah, not many thought they were going to lose the game so badly.

Time to play with freedom

After a convincing victory against Papua New Guinea that paved the way for Bangladesh’s passage into the Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup, premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that the Tigers will now be able to play with more freedom.

Mushfiqur needs just one good knock

As Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup campaign begins in earnest today, the Tigers will look to quickly resolve some disconcerting issues within the team instead of looking too much at their lightweight opponents in the first round of the competition – known as qualifiers for the Super 12.

A Year of Pandemic: Country on recovery trail

One year on, Bangladesh is well and truly on the recovery trail from the deep impacts the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on life and livelihood.

Test of application failed

When Bangladesh’s off-spin-bowling all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz was hitting those boundaries on the fourth evening at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur to endanger a West Indies victory, his efforts appeared more like damage limitation than a serious statement.

Death of a man, not his legend

As we were travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow by train while covering the 2018 World Cup in Russia, one inquisitive Argentine reporter asked why his country has such frenzied fan following in Bangladesh. The response was plain and simple. It’s because of Diego Maradona.

Badal Roy leaves a legacy

Badal Roy is no more. One of biggest icons of the country’s football history, Roy died at a city hospital yesterday. He was 62.

He should have opted for harmony

Bangladesh’s most celebrated cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has been in the news recently, and not in the sports pages.

A bastion of sporting courage

Referee Abdul Aziz died on Tuesday afternoon. He was suffering from multiple diseases. He was 68.

News Analysis: They don’t deserve it

The government’s decision to shut all state-run jute mills could not have come at a more inopportune time for the barely surviving workers in this sector.

A transcendent triumph

I have never considered myself a passionate Liverpool fan, although my colleagues and friends think otherwise.

Victims of denial

Healthcare facilities by definition are supposed to treat each and every patient seeking their services.

BATTLING COVID-19: Are we leaving too much to chance?

In a desperate attempt to get the economy back on track, the government has reopened factories that remained closed for around a month in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan

A show of disrespect

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan’s antics during press briefings have been well-advertised, but the BCB boss probably violated the very essence of the game -- respect -- while taking a swipe at Mushfiqur Rahim’s decision to skip the Pakistan tour.

Hassan’s evasion not the solution

Bangladesh lost their first-ever Test series in India 2-0. It was not unexpected. They lost both games inside three days, each by an innings. That too was not unexpected.

Will the rest learn the lesson?

Let’s face facts first: Bangladesh cricket’s biggest icon ever, Shakib Al Hasan, has been banned by the game’s governing body for two years for not reporting a bookie’s approach on three separate occasions.

Fans’ belief reawakened

Football has always been closer to the hearts of fans than any other sport in Bangladesh. Perhaps many will not buy this eulogy at a time when cricket is head and shoulders ahead in terms of popularity and success on the international front.

England’s flamboyance or Kiwis’ calm?

After more than a month’s excitement and drama, peppered with plots and sub-plots, rain interruptions, near-misses, heartbreaks of close defeats and a number of individual and team records, the World Cup has produced two worthy finalists in hosts England and New Zealand.

Bangladesh Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza fielding in Bangladesh vs Pakistan match

Let the emotional override subside

Bangladesh’s World Cup ended with a crushing defeat against Pakistan at Lord’s on Friday. It was an anticlimactic finish to an otherwise fantastic run by the Tigers in the showpiece event that had started brilliantly for them with a fabulous victory against South Africa

Deja vu all over again

Sri Lankan cricket writer Andrew Fidel Fernando wrote a very animated satire titled ‘ Here’s a massively premature review of the World Cup’ for Cricinfo a couple of days ago.

Fearless Tigers can unsettle mighty India

Some might argue against it, but it was the Tigers who provided the impetus in this World Cup with their fearless batting. South Africa came into this tournament as one of the fevourites but were effectively derailed by the Tigers. Tigers can unsettle mighty India too with their skill...

Distrust or dysfunction?

It was a fixture Bangladesh were supposed to win in this World Cup. They won it quite convincingly in the end, disposing of Afghanistan by 62 runs in Southampton last night.

Time to get the monkey off their back

The World Cup has spiced up in the last couple of days.

A lesson learned the hard way

Bangladesh lost their rare bout against World champions Australia by a margin of 48 runs at Trent Bridge yesterday. The defeat certainly served as a blow to Bangladesh’s dream for a place in the semifinals of the World Cup. It also a lesson the Tigers learned the hard way

Tigers in Training ahead Australia Match

A rare opportune moment

Over the last four years Bangladesh relentlessly tried to bridge the gap with the top teams in the cricketing world. They have made strong strides in the one-day format, although they were more successful at home.

Tigers gang up on Windies

Beware of the Tigers when they are on the prowl.

Regaining focus the key

It is always safer to be populist rather than pragmatic. But that does not necessarily mean a safe option will win you a battle.

Shakib Al Hasan in ICC World Cup practice session

Shakib gives Tigers the cue

When Shakib Al Hasan scored his maiden World Cup century in Cardiff against hosts England on Saturday, he did not embark on a celebratory run. The champion Bangladesh all-rounder just raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd’s applause. It might give you the impression

Wickets more important than containment

After two closely-contested games that saw Bangladesh win one and lose the other, the third against England at Cardiff yesterday turned out to be a bitter pill to swallow.

A deserving reward

When South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to field, a few of the more faint-hearted nature feared that

Pacers calling the early shots

This World Cup promised fireworks. But as far as the three games so far that took place at different venues in the United Kingdom go, it failed to live up to that lofty promise. Not only that, a single batsman was yet to hit the magical three-figure mark.

Beware of going overboard

The long wait is over. Bangladesh won a multi-nation tournament after six abortive attempts when they beat West Indies by five wickets at The Village in Dublin in an extraordinary final where the pendulum swung from one end to the other after rain intervened.

A flawed version of 2016

Bangladesh lost their three-match ODI series 3-0 against New Zealand. The home team completed the series sweep with an 88-run thrashing of the Tigers in the final fixture at Dunedin on Wednesday.

School's Disciplining Students: Couldn't care less

The tragic death of a ninth-grade student of the city's Viqarunnisa Noon School & College on Monday appalled and enraged all and sundry.

Same old seniors

A full-house turned up at the renovated Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Nilphamari yesterday to see a refreshingly different Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in what was the first big match experience for an otherwise tranquil city in the northern part of the country.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan and batsman Tamim Iqbal

Tigers starting to tick the boxes

Bangladesh's away series have never been as remarkable as it was in the just-concluded West Indies tour that ended with a 2-1 T20I series triumph, thanks to a 19-run (D/L method) victory in the third and final game in Lauderhill, Florida yesterday.

A triumph for football and Russia

Is the football World Cup all about winning the big prize? This may be the case for a few but for the majority of nations it is more about being a part of it. Mexico's coach Juan Carlos Osorio is a Colombian and he knows just how painful and devastating a defeat can be. After his side lost 2-0 against Brazil in the round of 16 on July 2, he made a very interesting observation.

France's second or Croatia's first?

A month ago, if someone had predicted that France and Croatia would play the World Cup final in Russia, most of us would have dumped it as an impossible option. But here we are with that spectacularly different reality -- the Les Bleus and the Blazers lining up for today's final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

A pint-sized giant

When Luka Modric appeared at the press conference at the Luzhniki Stadium yesterday, his slight figure hardly reflected a story he has

'I'd like France to win it'

Didier Drogba did not hide his allegiance ahead of tomorrow's World Cup final between France and Croatia. Speaking to reporters at the Moscow Press Centre the 40-year-old Ivorian, who is revered by the world as the best marksman Chelsea have produced, said that he would be rooting for Les Bleus at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Could the new star be Croatia's?

Can Croatia cross one final hurdle come Sunday night and become the ninth nation to win the World Cup? Standing in their way are France, whose sole ambition will be to claim that coveted piece of glory for the second time at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

April 16, 2023