Shabab Chowdhury

It was as if the Spanish Armada had descended upon Atlanta Stadium on Monday, where reigning European champions Spain took on World Cup debutants Cape Verde in their Group H opener widely billed as one of the biggest mismatches of the tournament.

When the announcement of the player of the match came, a few eyebrows were raised. Many felt the award should have gone to Morocco's 18-year-old midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi instead of Brazil's Vinicius Junior after a pulsating 1-1 draw in New Jersey on Sunday.

As the curtain rises on the 2026 FIFA World Cup tonight, the United States appears to be competing for an altogether different title -- one of the most inhospitable hosts in the tournament's history.

Two banks of flat fours with two centre-forwards leading the line. What is there to not get? Simple, isn’t it?

A personal account highlights alleged irregularities and the limited remedy

This season of the Big Bash League has been a sobering exercise for three of Pakistan’s marquee cricketers. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi arrived in Australia armed with heavyweight reputations and vast T20 expertise but what followed instead has been a humbling experience.

Twelve years -- that’s how long the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) went without an auction. And with unexpected surprises, unprecedented requests, and an overall underwhelming foreign-player pool, Sunday’s return to the auction table was, in many ways, reflective of the BPL’s fragile reputation.

Litton Das did something uncharacteristic of a Bangladesh captain after his side’s defeat in the first T20I against the West Indies in Chattogram on Monday.

For once, Mehidy Hasan Miraz dropped the clichés. There was no talk of “learning experiences” or “positives to take.” Instead, the Bangladesh ODI captain sounded visibly exasperated as he laid bare the team’s batting frailties after yet another collapse saw them slump to an 81-run defeat -- and a 2-0 series loss -- against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera finds himself at a defining crossroads, blessed with a momentous opportunity to shape the very future of the country’s football.

Even as he credited his side’s resilience, Westwood was quick to acknowledge Bangladesh’s surge.

Bangladesh batter Saif Hassan has done what many of his peers could not. He stepped away from the national fold, returned stronger, and finally proved himself ready for the demands of international cricket.

The samba beat may be Brazilian, but its rhythm this season is pulsing prominently from West London. So, Brazil fans hop in. There is a lot to get excited about this season.

He finished the five-match series in England with a chart-topping 23 wickets, the highest for any bowler.

The Tigers suffer from megalophobia -- they fear large targets.

"The message before the game was to make them understand that we are here to win the game," Maresca said.

In Peter Butler’s system, the Bangladesh goalie is also the first attacker.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul’s three-member Advisory Committee has attracted a lot of criticism as the nomination of its members has not been in line with the board’s constitution.

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain needs to go back to the training ground and rethink how he wants to win games for the Tigers. Because what he has been dishing out in Bangladesh’s consecutive T20I tours of the UAE and Pakistan has been nothing short of ordinary.

As it seems, the dilemma for Bangladesh remains: is Shanto worth the tactical compromise?