Khalid Hossain

Let’s revisit the cream of the crop from a stellar year.

As the much-anticipated World Cup clash between India and Pakistan unfolds in Ahmedabad today, cricket fans, regardless of their allegiances, are poised to savour every sumptuous bit of action.   

Just before revealing the name of Bangladesh’s new ODI captain for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon on Friday told the fortunate reporters present at his residence, “If you ask anyone, they will tell you who it is going to be. It was an obvious choice.”

Shakib once again highlighted his place in the upper echelons of cricketing superstars.

Argentina’s seven-goal demolition of visitors Curacao on Tuesday saw the return of Giovani Lo Celso who demonstrated why the three-time world champions badly missed the on-loan Villarreal midfielder during their Qatar World Cup campaign last year despite eventually having gone on to bag the ultimate prize in the sport.

It seems that culturally we are inclined, as if somewhat programmed, to do the bare minimum in providing deserving attention and a wide-scale media coverage when it comes to women’s sport in the country despite the fact that women athletes have had been giving their all, working just as hard as their male counterparts, day in day out over the years.

The advent of the T20 format and the corresponding boom of franchise-based leagues across the world has kept fans entertained, but no other tournament has provided what country’s Alternate Premier League (APL) brought to the table. 

Utterly unforgettable was the delivery of sports in 2022, a year jam-packed with major events – a few of which were postponed since 2020 by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to the Qatar World Cup, Lionel Andres Messi had all but conquered everything for his country and the clubs he represented – prestigious titles, individual awards, accolades from teammates, opponents, and critics alike.

It seems that Lionel Messi’s quest for the elusive World Cup title is going to be a much tougher task than expected and, quite surprisingly,

The world has long run out of superlatives to describe Lionel Messi in a new light. “Don’t describe him, just watch him,” one of Messi’s mentors Pep Guardiola had said.

Sports and politics had long been interlocked in such a way that the intention to view sports from an apolitical lens becomes, like it or not, a political stance.

“Fantastic atmosphere, great goals, incredible excitement, surprises, small teams beating big teams,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said yesterday. 56 of the 64 matches have so far played out but, prior to it,

A football World Cup offers a spectrum of gifts -- superstars lighting up the centre stage, rising stars becoming household names, nerve-wracking encounters between powerhouses, stunning upsets,

If one match in the 2022 World Cup so far had to be nominated to represent what football offers in the present era, Sunday night’s encounter between Spain and Germany stands out as the obvious candidate despite yielding just a draw.

Based on the first of three rounds of group-stage games, it is fair to conclude that football fans have been treated to a variety of scrumptious dishes -- a platter that is expected from the Greatest Show on Earth.

If we could only extrapolate what transpired in the Qatar World Cup till date, it would appear that we are definitely in for an unprecedented rollercoaster ride.    

The way Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan handled questions related to tactics in the pre-match press conference today -- ahead of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands tomorrow -- became a testament to the notion that the Tigers have miles to go before they become a formidable side in T20s.

The much-awaited Women’s Asia Cup, played in the 20-over format since 2012, returns with its eighth edition in Sylhet as the curtain-raiser sees defending champions Bangladesh take on Thailand at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Ground 2 (SICS Outer) today from Bangladesh Standard Time 9:00 am.

A common scene preceding a friendly neighbourhood football match is random players gathering and two seniors-turn-captains taking turns in picking the players. Usually, the top strikers are recruited first, followed by playmakers, wingers, and so on.