Shabab Chowdhury

Reporters present during the Bangladesh squad announcement in Mirpur yesterday, ahead of the upcoming T20I series against the UAE and Pakistan, may have felt a strong sense of deja vu.

Bangladesh are slated to play 16 T20Is against the UAE, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup. An additional six matches against the West Indies and Ireland will follow. With a packed T20 calendar and Shanto’s declining performances in the format, his inclusion in the squad becomes increasingly difficult to justify.

Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal labelled Taijul Islam as "the most underrated bowler in the world at the moment" after the left-arm spinner claimed his 16th five-wicket haul on Day 1 of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Chattogram on Monday.

Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani stood tall and won the battle against the much-hyped pace unit of Bangladesh in the first Test in Sylhet.

Exasperated sighs, brooding stares, and hands on hips were perhaps the common responses as people tuned into the state-run BTV channel late afternoon on Sunday.

Non-payment of players -- a very common problem throughout the history of the tournament -- doubled up on the intense rumours of spot-fixing, prevalent throughout the ongoing edition of the BPL, and combined with the widespread scrutiny behind the disregard for having standard-sized boundaries.

Fans were presented with another sampling of it when Sylhet Strikers’ frontline pacer Al-Amin Hossain played no part in their group-stage fixture against Dhaka Capitals in Chattogram on Monday despite being named in the playing eleven. 

The BCB has the opportunity to make changes to the Champions Trophy squad till next month. It rarely makes it easy to rule out abnormality. So, is there another twist around the corner or have we seen the last of Shakib in national colours?

The Flying Dutchman – the infamous supernatural ghost ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean -- daunting if one looks at its reputation, yet relentless in its endeavors in wreaking havoc across the seas.

The decision-making process, in particular, as well as the outcomes, often relating to simple issues, are commonly shrouded in mystery, most of it done unnecessarily.

Poor string of scores is nothing new for the 30-year-old as he has gone on a run of registering single-digit scores for three or more matches on the trot on four different phases in his 50-over career but this is the longest he has gone without reaching double digits.

The Tigers’ new breed must step up without relying on the likes Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, or Mustafizur Rahman -- all of whom were instrumental in Bangladesh's 2-1 ODI series win during their last Caribbean tour in 2018.

If you are a left-handed top-order Bangladesh batter, you would not like the sight of Afghanistan’s left-handed pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi steaming in at you with the new ball.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed has made a meal manoeuvring the removal of national team head coach Chandika Hathursingha.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his inclusion, the 38-year-old was named in the 15-member squad announced for the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, starting in Gwalior on October 6.

Amid Bangladesh’s continued top-order failure in Test cricket in recent times, one character that might have escaped wide scrutiny is Mominul Haque, who these days bats at number four position – one of the two most crucial batting positions in Test cricket.

Bangladesh seamer Mohammad Saifuddin does not always make things easy for himself whenever he speaks to the media.

Now, will the BCB finally demand accountability from Hathurusingha or will they maintain the status quo as raising questions will bring them directly into the firing line?

A significant mismatch on paper was the theme for Bangladesh ahead of their T20 World Cup Super 8 fixture against Australia in St. Lucia and the Tigers could do very little to overturn the notion with their on-field display on Friday.

Bangladesh are not accustomed to seeing what leg-spinner Rishad Hossain is dishing out in the ongoing T20 World Cup.