Bangladesh announce ODI Squad for India series

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have announced a 14 member ODI squad for up-coming 3 match home series against India in a media conference at a local hotel today (Monday).

Habibul Bashar is retained as the captain of the side amid growing speculation about his retirement from ODI. It is learnt that Bashar is set to retire from ODI after the India series and he will declare his decision very soon. Bashar will continue playing test matches and will lead Bangladesh in longer version of the game.

Mohammad Ashraful, the future ODI captain of Bangladesh © Cricinfo

Mohammad Ashraful is appointed as the new vice captain of Bangladesh ODI team and is likely to take the captaincy of the ODI team after the retirement of Bashar. Former vice-captain Shahriar Nafees managed to retain his place in the squad after a forgettable world cup in which he scored only 29 runs from 5 innings but failed to retain vice-captaincy.

The selectors have retained all players of the world cup squad except Rajin Saleh who hasn?t played a single match in the world cup.

The test squad will be declared after the completion of ODI series which starts on 10th May. Bangladesh will be playing test after a one year break, they played their last Test in April last year against Australia at home.

Bangladesh ODI squad:

Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful (vice-capt), Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Farhad Reza.

Bangladesh secure second win in Academy Cup

Bangladesh registered their second victory in the tri-nation Academy Cup by defeating Pakistan by 4 wickets at BKSP ground, Dhaka on Friday.

Overnight rain delayed the start of the match and it was reduced to 33 overs a side. Chasing a victory target of 124, Bangladesh academy were in serious trouble as Pakistan paceman Najaf Shah reduced Bangladesh to 23-4 in 7 overs. Bangladesh opening batsman Imrul Kayes launched a remarkable fight back and shared a match deciding 80 run partnership with Nadif Chowdhury in the 5^th wicket to ensure a Bangladesh win.

Bangladesh finally reached the target in 30.3 overs losing 6 wickets to keep their hope alive for the final place.

Imrul in his impressive 61 off 69 balls hammered 5 boundaries and 2 sixes. Nadif Chowdhury was the only other batsman to reach double figures who struck a patient 19 off 52 deliveries to support Imrul. Najaf Shah of Pakistan grabbed 3 wickets for 23 runs.

Earlier, Bangladesh skipper Mehrab Hossain won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat first. Bangladeshi bowlers used the damp conditions efficiently and reduced Pakistan to 76-7. Pakistan never recovered from that position and finally managed to post a modest 123-9 in stipulated 33 overs.

Five of the Pakistani top order batsman except Khalid Latif returned to the pavilion with single digit scores which diminished Pakistan’s chances to post a challenging score. Khalid scored a patient 23 off 46 balls and was the highest scorer or Pakistan along with wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed who remained unbeaten on 23 off 36 balls.

Mehrab Hossain was pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers, he bagged 3 wickets for 21 runs. Kamrul Islam joined the party with 2 wickets for 29 runs.

Despite this win Bangladesh failed to secure their place in the final. They have to rely on the outcome of Pakistan-Sri Lanka match to know their fate. A Sri Lanka win will secure a final spot for both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

If Pakistan win the clash, they will move into the final and the other team will be decided on the basis of net run rate.

Academy Tri-Series 2006/07 Table

			P	W	L	NR	BP	Pts	NetRR
1		Sri Lanka Cricket Academy	3	2	1	0	0	8	0.152
2		Bangladesh Cricket Academy	4	2	2	0	0	8	-0.353
3		Pakistan Cricket Academy	3	1	2	0	1	5	0.385

Heroes returning home after successful world cup mission

Tigers are returning home after a successful world cup campaign, they will reach Bangladesh tomorrow (26th April) in the early morning. BanglaCricket is welcoming the Tigers to their den and expressing gratitude for raising the image of the country.

Bangladesh team have already left London via flight number BA 145 which is expected to land at Zia International Airport at 06:10 AM. Tigers who brought immense pride for the country are expected to be received by BCB officials, former captains, journalists, and thousand of fans.

Heroes returning home © Cricinfo

In the world cup Bangladesh managed to achieve their target to reach the super eights by toppling India at the group stage. Tigers continued their giant-killing act by defeating top ranked South Africa in the super eights encounter and eventually revived the world cup. Bangladesh also managed to defeat New Zealand in the warm-up match and registered win over Bermuda in their last group match.

Despite some poor performances, this is the biggest achievement by Bangladesh team in their cricket history. Bangladesh finished 7th in the 14 nation tournament.

After a gruelling three months long Caribbean tour in which they won the ICC tri-series and reached the top stage of the world cup, Tigers will be back on the field within a very short time. The home series against India will be starting from 10th May.

Bangladesh To Announce One-Day Team On 30 April

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is going to pick the squad for the upcoming ODI series against India on 30th April.

The BCB will also appoint captain and vice-captain of Bangladesh team on the same day as the tenure of Habibul Bashar and Shahriar Nafees expired at the end of the world cup.

After completing a successful World Cup campaign,the Bangladesh team is returning home on 26th April but has only few days to rest as the India series will be starting from 10th May.

It is learnt that under-fire captain Habibul Bashar who had a dismal show in the world cup is facing calls from different quarters to retire from one-day internationals. But Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) general secretary Mahbub Anam hinted that the BCB is going to retain Bashar considering his one-day record and contribution to Bangladesh cricket.

It is widely tipped that Bashar might retire from one-day cricket after the series to concentrate on test matches where he is by far the leading performer in Bangladesh.

Vice-captain and opener Shahriar Nafees who had a forgettable World Cup is likely to lose his place from the ODI side along with fellow opener veteran Javed Omar.

Junaid Siddique and Nazmus Sadat, who recently performed well with the A team and Academy sides are likely contenders to open with another young man Tamim Iqbal in the ODI matches against India.

Current Bangladesh A captain Tushar Imran, who had a number of unsuccessful runs with the national team is also likely to get another recall. Former captain and wicket-keeper Khaled Mashud who lost his place from the ODI side before the World Cup is likely to sit out as chief selector Faruk Ahmed showed his satisfaction with the progress of young Mushfiqur Rahim as the wicket-keeper.

The squad for the test series which starts from 18th May will be declared after the ODI series.

Rokibul Guides Bangladesh Academy to Win Over Sri Lanka

Bangladesh Cricket Academy secured a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Academy at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium yesterday (Sunday) and strongly bounced back in the tri-nation academy tournament after losing the opener against Pakistan.

An unbeaten 69 off 73 balls from Rokibul Hasan was the mainstay of Bangladesh innings as the home side reached the revised victory target of 201 in 42.5 overs (44 over max.) in the rain affected match. Rokibul hammered 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in his masterful innings to guide Bangladesh home.

Skipper of Bangladesh Academy Mehrab Hossain shared a 98 run partnership in the 4th wicket with Rokibul and scored a valuable 47 runs off 59 balls with the help of 3 boundaries and one six. Nuwan Zoysa grabbed 1 wicket for 24 runs and Paranavithana took 2 wickets for 22 runs for Sri Lanka

Earlier, Sri Lanka Academy managed a modest 218-8 in 50 overs. Sri Lanka A lost their way as wickets tumbled from the very beginning of the innings. Only Skipper and opener Ian Daniel stood tall and top scored with 64 off 73 deliveries with 10 boundaries. The middle order collapsed to the left arm spin bowlers of Bangladesh as Mehrab Hossain and Mosharraf Hossain grabbed 2 wickets each for 46 and 42 runs.

Some late hitting from number seven batsman A Matthew who scored 42 runs from 52 deliveries with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes enabled the visitors to cross the two hundred mark.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka Academy: 218-8 in 50 overs (Daniel 64, Mathew 42* ; Mosharraf 2-42, Mehrab 2-46).

Bangladesh Academy: 202-5 in 42.5 overs (Nazimuddin 33, Rokibul 69*, Mehrab 47; Zoysa 1-24, Paranavithana 2-22).

Pakistan Make a Winning Start in Academy Cup

An unbeaten century from Khalid Latif guided the Pakistan Academy team to a comfortable six-wicket win over the Bangladesh in the opener of the tri-nation Academy Cup tournament at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) ground on Saturday.

Latif in his blazing 100 off 88 balls smashed 10 fours and 5 sixes and Pakistan Academy raced to victory with more than 15 overs to spare.

Chasing a victory target of 220 in 50 overs, Pakistan opener Babar Naeem set the platform with a quick fire 69 off 46 balls including 6 boundaries and 5 sixes. He shared a 115 run partnership with Latif in only 12.1 overs to ensue an emphatic victory. Left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain claimed two wickets for 55 runs in 8.5 overs for Bangladesh.

Earlier, Bangladesh captain Mehrab Hossain won the toss and opted to bat first. Bangladesh made a reasonably good start and reached to 173-4 in 30 overs as opener Zuanid Siddique hammered a prolific 62 off 40 balls smashing 10 boundaries.

Bangladesh innings lost their way as Pakistan Skipper Fawad Alam took 3 quick wickets and they were eventually bundled out for a modest 219 in 47.3 overs.

Babar Naeem and Fawad Alam each took three wickets giving away 32 and 33 runs respectively..

Sri Lanka Academy is the other team in the competition.

Brief Scores

Bangladesh Academy: 219 all out in 47.3 overs (Zunaid 53, Mahmudullah 31; Babar 3-32, Fawad 3-33).

Pakistan Academy: 220-4 in 35.5 overs (Babar 69, Khalid 100*; Moshrraf 2-55).

Dav Whatmore resigns as Bangladesh coach

After coaching Bangladesh for 4 years and leading them to World Cup Super Eights, Dav Whatmore has stepped down as Bangladesh's coach citing personal reasons.

He has decided not to renew his contract with BCB which expires at the end of April. However, he has agreed to remain in charge of Tigers until the end of May to cover the India series. This will allow Bangladesh Cricket Board to find his successor before the away series to Sri Lanka which starts in July.

Dav Whatmore quits as Bangladesh coach © Cricinfo

Whatmore took the charge of Bangladesh after Tigers infamous debacle in World Cup 2003 and in his 4 years (he extended his initial 2 years contract in June 2005 for another 2 years) he has transformed them into one of the most exciting side of world cricket.

Whatmore has led Bangladesh to 33 wins in 86 one-day internationals and also coached the side to a first ever test victory, against three draws and 21 defeats.

Bangladesh Cricket Board in a media release expressed gratitude to Dav Whatmore for raising the standard of performance of the National Team in International cricket.

BCB also formed a six-member committee to find the successor of Dav Whatmore