Samsul Arefin Khan

The back-to-back ODI series defeats to West Indies and Afghanistan have come as a big reality check for Bangladesh, who seemed to have lost their way in the 50-over format ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in February-March next year.

Last year, Bangladesh not only had a decent campaign in the inaugural U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, but they also produced players like Marufa Akter, Shorna Akter, Dilara Akter and Rabeya.

Bangladesh U-19 team head coach Naveed Nawaz spoke with The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan after the successful campaign, shared insights on their performance in the event and the plans going forward.

The recently-concluded three-match WT20I series against Ireland marked the end of a forgetful year for the Bangladesh women’s team, which witnessed an extraordinary downfall in their performance in both white-ball formats compared to the preceding year.

Jaker has already scored fifties in each of the three Tests he has played, becoming only the second Bangladeshi after Mominul Haque to achieve such a feat.

Although three and a half years have passed since then, the Tigresses are yet to feature in the game’s elite format.

The workload management of Nahid Rana, Bangladesh’s fastest bowler, will be key in the coming days to keep the 22-year-old away from burnout and injuries, experts have said. 

Showcasing a spirited display, Nigar Sultana Joty’s team put aside all the pre-series fears.

For more than five months, pace bowler Anamul Haque had to patiently wait for an opportunity to play a professional game.

Experienced Bangladesh batter Sharmin Akhter Supta made a sensational return to the national side as she struck a career-best 89-ball 96 in the Tigresses’ record 154-run win over Ireland in the first of three ODIs in Mirpur yesterday. Had she not been caught at mid-off while trying to ratchet up the scoring rate in the latter stage of the innings, Supta could have become only the second Bangladeshi woman batter to score an ODI hundred after Fargana Hoque, who scored both the ODI hundreds for Bangladesh. Playing her first international game since July 2023, she also had cramps while fielding which forced her to leave the ground. After the match, the 28-year-old batter talked to The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan regarding her comeback, preparation, and yesterday’s match-winning knock. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

Head coach Rajin Saleh represented Sylhet for nearly 20 years but never won the NCL as a player.

Pacer Rana’s return to the field was far from easy.

While Ireland had recently beat England and Sri Lanka, the hosts are winless this year and last played a 50-over match in March.

The 23-year-old tops the run charts in the ongoing NCL with 567 runs in eight innings, averaging 81, including his maiden double century and consecutive centuries.

Even after 24 years since Bangladesh's first Test, the persistent problems of poor batting and substandard wickets in the domestic circuit, evidenced in the National Cricket League’s (NCL) fifth-round fixtures, highlight why the national team continues to struggle in the red-ball format.

Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, chairman of BCB's umpires' committee for the last three years, in an interview with The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan, expressed his concern regarding the recent increase in code of conduct violations by players in the ongoing National Cricket League while also admitting umpiring errors that have led to such a rise. Here are the excerpts of the interview:

While talking about Bangladesh cricket, many often lament that despite being a Test nation for around two-and-a-half decades, the country has failed to cultivate a domestic cricket culture. This assertion, however, is not quite true.

Mahmudullah Riyad fell in the nervous nineties for the first time in his international career, but not before the veteran smashed a brilliant run-a-ball 98 to propel Bangladesh to 244 for eight in the series-deciding third ODI against Afghanistan in Sharjah yesterday.

"In this World Cup, it’s going to be a bit different. There are a couple of all-rounders in the team. It all depends on how these players respond against stronger teams," said Naveed.

David Hemp has been Bangladesh's batting coach for the past eight months, with 14 months remaining on his contract, but now faces criticism after recent batting failures against India and South Africa.