Dhaka, Apr 13 (UNB) - Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will start work on proposed Sheikh Hasina International Stadium, one of the biggest stadiums in the world, in Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital in the winter next, a BCB director said on Saturday.

Mahbub Anam, a BCB Director and its Ground Committee Chairman, said the board is working hard to start the construction of the much-awaited Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium in the upcoming winter.

The proposed cricket stadium will be the biggest one in the country and one of the best ones in the world with a capacity of 1 lakh spectators, he said.

The decision was taken at the first meeting of the project implementation group of BCB held on Saturday at the board office.  

“BCB has already created a miniature of the proposed stadium. Now, we have to enlarge it. According to the plan, we’ll have an academy ground along with the main stadium. We’re working on the plan now and I think we can’t start the construction work before the coming winter,” Mahbub Anam told reporters at the BCB headquarters after the meeting.

BCB has acquired 37 acres of land from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and they have finalised the complete basic structural plan, he said, adding that they are now working on the details of the plan.

“We’re working on the detailed plan of everything of the proposed venue. In the meantime, we’ll complete the process of taking possession of the land which will boost the progress of our work,” Mahbub further said to the media.

He also said BCB is hopeful to complete the construction of the proposed venue within two years after starting the project.

There are some more stadiums in the country which are inactive for years. But BCB looks reluctant to take any effective steps to reactivate those citing those venues are the property of the National Sports Council (NSC).

About the issue, Mahbub told reporters, “Since those are the property of the NSC, it’s difficult for BCB to take any step to maintain those venues.”

Dhaka, Apr 13 (UNB) - Former captain and Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim batted on Saturday at the National Cricket Academy ground after a long break of 29 days.

He came back along with the team from New Zealand on March 16 following the dreadful terror attacks on two mosques at Christchurch that left 50 people, including five Bangladeshi nationals, dead. Since then he had been out of action.

The right-handed wicketkeeper batsman had also been suffering from an injury in his rib.

Mushfiqur batted for about 30 minutes on Saturday. Before that, he started his strength training on Thursday.

Bangladesh team management was in doubt due to the injury of Mushfiqur.

However, his participation in batting practice came as a relief for the selectors.

Over the last decade, Mushfiqur has become the linchpin of the Bangladesh batting line-up. He has represented the Tigers in 66 Tests, 201 ODIs and 77 T20 Internationals. The right-handed batsman played the pivotal role for Bangladesh in many victorious occasions.

Mushfiqur is considered one of the biggest weapons of the Tigers in the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales which is scheduled to be played between May 30 and July 14.

Dhaka, Apr 13 (UNB) — Bangladesh Cricket Board is under immense pressure before the selection of the 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup due various injuries to a number of the national cricketers who are strong contenders or even shoo-ins for places in the Tigers’ World Cup squad.

Players like Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin and Taskin Ahmed are trying to get rid of the injuries since coming back home from New Zealand. In the meantime, Mehidy Hasan Miraz suffered a blow on his right thumb. Mustafizur Rahman became the latest name added to the list of injured cricketers suffering a blow on his left ankle on Wednesday. 

Mahmudullah Riyad
The allrounder was nursing a blow to his shoulder before the tour of New Zealand, but that was manageable enough to continue playing. However, he dived twice to restrict boundaries during the Test series there and subsequently his injury got aggravated. Now, the allrounder is going through a rehabilitation program under BCB. He is expected to return to action during the tri-series in Ireland prior to the World Cup. 

Mushfiqur Rahim
The wicketkeeper-batsman has been nursing an injury on his rib for a while now. He missed a number of international matches due to his rib problem. Meanwhile, he also went through a finger injury during the last tour in New Zealand. However, the right-handed batsman’s main problem is now his rib injury. According to the chief physician of BCB, Mushfiqur needs nothing but taking the rest. He is expected to get fit before Ireland tri-series as well. 

Rubel Hossain
The right-arm pacer is suffering from a side strain what he sustained during a match in the ongoing season of Dhaka League. The national pacer is playing in the league for the defending champions Abahani Limited. In a recent chat with UNB, the pacer has said: “I am feeling better now. But it will take more time to say the exact duration when I can back to the field. However, I hope to represent Abahani in the Super League stage of the Dhaka League.”

Mohammad Saifuddin
It is believed that Mohammad Saifuddin can be a strong weapon of the Tigers in the World Cup. According to the captain of Bangladesh team, the all-rounder has all the abilities to grab the limelight relying on his right-handed pace bowling and left-handed batting skill. However, the allrounder has been suffering from ‘tennis elbow’ for a while now. Though the 22-year-old allrounder is playing for Abahani in the Dhaka League, in a recent chat with the media, he said that he is confident of regaining his full strength before the tri-series in Ireland which will precede the World Cup. 

Taskin Ahmed
The pacer got the blow to his ankle during the last game of Sylhet Sixers in the last season of Bangladesh Premier League on February 1. Since then, he went through through a rehabilitation program and recently he started playing in the Dhaka League for Shinepukur Cricket Club. However, he is still far short of full  fitness. He needs to prove his full fitness to be considered for the World Cup squad. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Mehidy Hasan had injured his right thumb during a match for Abahani in the Dhaka League. He went to stop a boundary off Shahriar Nafees, which he did successfully but got a blow to his thumb which forced him to leave the field. In the latest update regarding his injury, BCB physician said Mehidy will be able to return to  action soon. 

Mustafizur Rahman
With Mustafizur’s blow on the ankle, Bangladesh selectors have a fresh concern before selecting the squad of the World Cup. The left-arm pacer got the blow during a warm-up session for his Dhaka League team Shinepukur Cricket Club on Wednesday. He has been ruled out for a period of two weeks. BCB chief physician said there were no fractures on the X-ray report of the injured ankle of Mustafizur. However, he said the pacer needs to take rest for two weeks which is stated as the ‘precautionary measures’ by the physician.

Dhaka, Apr 12 (UNB) - Bangladesh all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin said he is not bothered about the insignificant injury on his elbow. Earlier, it was reported that Saifuddin has been playing the ongoing season of Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League hiding an injury. 

While talking to reporters on Friday, the all-rounder said, “Since the World Cup is not far, I have to keep myself fit for the games. There’s no reason to be worried (about the injury).”

Recently, some media reported that Saifuddin has been suffering from ‘tennis elbow’ for a while now. The reports also said for playing with this injury, Saifuddin could suffer more in the future.

But, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhazul Abedin told reporters on April 10 that the BCB did not receive any suggestion from the physio of the national team denying Saifuddin to take part in the competitive cricket. 

“We saw some media reports saying Saifuddin is playing with injuries. But we don’t have any report on that from the national team physio. So, we have no problem with Saifuddin’s participation in the Dhaka League,” Minhazul had said.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin admitted that he is not cent percent fit and facing physical problem while playing. 

“All pace-bowlers are prone to injury. We all know that. We have to play in spite of having it in mind. To be honest, I’m not cent percent fit but I can play. I would tell the team management if I can’t continue playing. As a professional player, I have to play till I’m fit to do that,” Saifuddin also told the reporters. 

“During my age-level cricket, the coaches used to tell us that if you think too much about the injuries it’ll ruin your game. So, I always try to play keeping the thinking of injuries at bay,” he concluded. 

In the Dhaka League, Saifuddin has so far played eight matches and bagged 12 wickets while scoring 182 with three fifties. The all-rounder has represented the Tigers in 10 ODIs and nine T20 Internationals till the date.
 

Dhaka, Apr 11 (UNB) - As the sixth and last team, Mohammedan Sporting Club reached the Super League of the ongoing Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League beating Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) by one wicket in the last-over thriller in Fatullah on Thursday. 

Before heading to the match, Mohammedan needed a win to qualify for the Super League. They required nine runs in the last over to seal the victory. Qazi Onik and Saqlain Sajib hit two fours off Sumon Khan and ensured the win.

BKSP won the toss and decided to bat first in the match. They posted a challenging total of 249 for seven wickets in 50 overs. 

Aminul Islam was the best batsman for BKSP scoring 60 runs with five fours. Along with him, Shamim Hossain (49), Akbar Ali (38), Parvez Hossain (38) and Fahad Hossain (32) contributed with the bat as well. 

For Mohammedan, Rahatul Ferdous took three wickets while Rajat Bhatia bagged two.

While replying, Liton Das and Irfan Sukkur added 77 runs in the opening stand which gave them a must-needed boost to seal the game. Irfan fell for 41 while Liton struck 53. 

After the removal of Irfan and Liton, Avishek Mitra and Raqibul Hasan posted 65 and 35 respectively to accelerate the innings. However, they suffered a mini collapse when Mohammad Ashraful continued on his poor record in the league and Nadif Chowdhury also disappointed to impress as they posted 3 and 0 respectively. 

When the match was hanging in the balance, Rajat Bhatia (15), Rahatul Ferdous (14) and Qazi Onik (13) helped Mohammedan overcome the challenge of BKSP. Mohammedan scored 252 for nine wickets in 49.5 overs. 

Avishek was the man of the match for his outstanding effort of hitting 65 while chasing the target. 

In the other two matches on Thursday, Shinepukur beat Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity by 15 runs under the DL method in Dhaka while Prime Bank Cricket Club won against Gazi Group Cricketers by 34 runs in Savar. 

In Dhaka, Khelaghar posted 190 all-out in 48.2 overs relying on Mashum Khan (40), Amit Majumder (37), Robiul Haque (22) and Shahriar Komol (22).

For Shinepukur, Delwar Hossain bagged three wickets while Hamidul Islam and Afif Hossain took two wickets each. 

In reply, Shinepukur posted 165 for six wickets in 41 overs. Due to the rain and bad light, the match ended in 41 overs, and Shinepukur won it by 15 runs via the DL method. Shadman was the best scorer for Shinepukur hitting 64, and he was awarded the man of the match as well. 

In Savar, Prime Bank accumulated 201 for nine wickets in 50 overs while batting first after winning the toss. Nayeem Hasan and Ariful Haque were the best scorers for them hitting 34 each. 

For Gazi Group, Sanjit Saha took three wickets while Nasum Ahmed and Kamran Ghulam bagged two wickets each. 

While replying, Gazi were wrapped in for 167 all-out in 45.2 overs in spite of a superb knock of 74 by Myshukur Rahman at the top of the batting line. However, they lost the match by 34 runs. 

For Prime Bank, Nayeem Hasan and Alok Kapali bagged two wickets each. In the end, Nayeem was the man of the match for his all-round performance. 

Meanwhile, Khelaghar, BKSP and Brothers Union ended the league stage of the Dhaka League as the bottom-three in the points table. And that is why they will compete in the relegation league now. Those will end the relegation league being second and third will be relegated to the first division league. On the other hand, the number one team of the relegation league will contest in the next Premier League.