Bangabandhu BPL T20 2019

The seventh edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to begin from December 11, 2019, and this one-month-long tournament will end on January 16, 2020. However, the opening ceremony of this cash-rich tournament will take place on December 8. The forthcoming season, which has been named ‘Bangabandhu BPL’, will be inaugurated by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The reason behind naming this competition after the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is to mark his 100^th birthday. On November 16, 2019, the logo of the Bangabandhu BPL, which is also known as BPL 7, was shown at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. 

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The Bangabandhu BPL T20 2019 organized by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will feature seven teams- Dhaka Platoon, Chattogram Challengers, Cumilla Warriors, Khulna Tigers, Rajshahi Royals, Rangpur Rangers and Sylhet Thunder. Comilla Victorians is the defending champion and the franchise will also try to defend the title for the third time.

The sad thing is that Bangladesh’s Test and T20I skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, will not be able to take part in this special BPL edition. Because he failed to report three bookie approaches, he has been banned from all types of cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for two years, with one year of that suspended. 

Bangladesh beats India first time in T20I

Bangladesh cricket team took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 international series after defeating the host nation India by 7 wickets in the first match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday (November 3). The “Men in Red and Green” got their first T20 victory against India in their ninth meeting, and this also marked the 1000^th men's T20 international match. The second T20I match will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on November 7.

Bangladesh won the toss and invited India to bat first. The “Men in Blue” could collect 148 runs losing 6 wickets in 20 overs. Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan played a 41-run innings with three Fours and a Six. Shafiul Islam and Aminul Islam claimed two wickets each while Afif Hossain got one wicket for Bangladesh.

However, the visitors chased down the target with 3 balls remaining at hand. Wicketkeeper-batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored an unbeaten 60 off 43 balls, played the most crucial role behind this triumph. Soumya Sarkar stuck 39 runs from 35 balls. In the last 10 balls of the match, Bangladesh required 20 runs to win. Hitting four consecutive fours off left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim made the task easier and captain Mahmudullah hit a six in the final over to secure the victory. They finished the match scoring 154-3 in 19.3 overs. Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed and Yuzvendra Chahal took one wicket each for India.

Mushfiqur Rahim was declared “Player of the Match” for his brilliant performance.

Shivam Dube of India and Mohammad Naim of Bangladesh made debut with this match for their respective teams. 

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/50283590

Bangladesh women has qualified for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Bangladesh women’s cricket team made a moment to cheer for their supporters after beating Thailand women’s cricket team by 70 runs in the final match of the 2019 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier that took place at the Forfarshire Cricket Club in Dundee, Scotland on Saturday (September 7, 2019). With this victory, the Tigresses bagged their second consecutive trophy in this recently concluded tournament. Their first major title was in the 2018 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup, which they won after beating India by three wickets in the final.

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However, reaching the final round of the tournament, both Bangladesh and Thailand already made sure their participation in the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to kick off in Australia from February 21. For being the tournament champion, Bangladesh was placed in Group A along with Australia, India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka whereas Thailand was put in Group B consisting of England, South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan.

Batting first, Bangladesh made a competitive score of 130-5 in 20 overs. Opener Sanjida Islam played a crucial role in this match. She played an unbeaten innings of 71 from 60 balls and on her way to score maiden T20 half-century, she hit six fours and three sixes. She also made a 68-run partnership with Murshida Khatun in the opening stand. Murshida scored 33 off 34 balls before being bowled out by Suleeporn Laomi. Apart from them, neither of the batsmen could cross the double figure. Nattaya Boochatham alone took two wickets while Sornnarin Tippoch and Suleeporn Laomi took one wicket apiece.

However, coming to chase the target, the Thailand women’s cricket team ended up compiling 60 for 7 in their stipulated overs. Ratanaporn Padunglerd and Wongpaka Liengprasert respectively scored 15 and 11. Bangladeshi bowlers Nahida Akter and Shaila Sharmin took two wickets each while Salma Khatun and Khadija Tul Kubra shared two wickets.

Throughout the tournament, Bangladesh remained unbeaten. They made their way to the final after defeating Ireland by four wickets in the semi-final on Thursday before emerging as Group A topper winning all three matches. In the previous edition of the tournament in 2018 in Netherlands, they also became victorious, but finished as runners-up in the 2015 edition.

Scorecard- https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/19451/scorecard/1197065/bangladesh-women-vs-thailand-women-final-icc-womens-t20-world-cup-qualifier-2019

Shakib Al Hasan has reclaimed top position in the ICC ODI all-rounders’ rankings 2019

Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has dethroned Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and claimed the top spot of the ICC ODI rankings for all-rounders just before the start of the 2019 ICC World Cup, which is scheduled to kick off from May 30 in England and Wales.

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Shakib Al Hasan, the 32-year-old left-handed player, has been able to regain his leading position performing marvelously both with the bat and ball in the recently concluded tri-nation ODI tournament in Ireland, which Bangladesh won by five wickets in the final against West Indies, and thus, registered their first-ever-multi-nation tournament win. However, he missed the final due to injury.

Shakib Al Hasan has claimed the top place with 359 rating points while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and his teammate Mohammad Nabi are sitting in the second and third positions correspondingly in the ODI all-rounders’ rankings with 339 and 319 rating points.

Shakib Al Hasan earlier had lost his top position to Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan for staying out of the field for a long time due to injury, which also saw him missing the New Zealand tour. None of the Indian players has been able to make their place among the top 10 in the list.

It is expected that Shakib Al Hasan will carry on his good form in the forthcoming World Cup. 

Source:

https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/bangladesh-cricket/news/shakib-goes-top-all-rounders-rankings-1747261

Bangladesh seals their first-ever major trophy

May 17, 2019 was a remarkable day in the history of Bangladesh cricket, because, on that day, the men in red and green registered their first-ever major title after defeating West Indies by five wickets in the final match of the tri-nation ODI tournament by Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at The Village in Malahide, Ireland. Bangladesh national cricket team has become successful in their seventh attempt to win a tournament final.

Coming to chase 210 runs in the stipulated 24 overs, the Tigers reached the target with 7 balls to spare thanks to Mosaddek Hossain's unbeaten 27-ball 52 and Soumya Sarkar’s 66 off 41 balls. Mosaddek also made a 70-run partnership with Mahmudullah Riyad in the sixth-wicket, which helped the Tigers chase down the mammoth total. Mushfiqur Rahim also played a useful innings of 22-ball 36.

For West Indies, Shannon Gabriel and Raymon Reifer took two wickets each while Fabian Allen claimed one wicket. 

Batting first, the Caribbean team scored 152 runs losing one wicket in 24 overs. Shai Hope, who was awarded player-of-the-series title, top scored for his side with 74 runs while his opening partner Sunil Ambris was not out on 69. The only wicket was taken by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

At one point, it looked like the final match would be washed away due to heavy rain. Even if it happened, Bangladesh would have won the title for staying on top of the point table with four wins and one draw. However, the match resumed after five hours when West Indies was 131 for no loss in 20.1 overs, thus reducing the match to 24 overs. This victory before the 2019 ICC World Cup has surely increased the morale of the Bangladesh cricket team. I hope they will continue their winning streak.

Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/11122/scorecard/1168514/bangladesh-vs-west-indies-final-ireland-tri-nation-series-2019

ICC World Cup 2019: Bangladesh Squad

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday (April 16) named a 15-man squad for the impending World Cup, which will be co-hosted by England and Wales from May 30, 2019. Among the players, Abu Jayed Chowdhury Rahi was the surprise inclusion in the Bangladesh team. The 25-year-old pace bowler, who has already played 5 Tests and 3 T20Is for his country, is likely to make his One Day International (ODI) debut in the World Cup. Taking his current form and fitness into consideration, he has been picked up in the squad instead of Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed.

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The exclusion of Taskin Ahmed and Imrul Kayes from the World Cup squad faced huge criticism both in social and mainstream media. Taskin Ahmed, the 24-year-old fast bowler, showed his brilliant performance in the sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), taking 22 wickets in 12 group stage games. However, he sustained injury towards the end of the BPL 6 in February though he featured in a Dhaka Premier League (List A) match after recovering from his injury recently, but failed to impress the selectors with his fitness. 

Veteran player Imrul Kayes is perhaps the most unlucky player. Despite having scintillating form throughout the last year, scoring 436 runs with two centuries in eight matches, the player failed to claim a spot in the World Cup squad because the team management wanted a right and left-handed combination at the top order. For this reason, he was not taken to the squad.

There might be a change in the World Cup squad after the end of the tri-nation series in Ireland. The BCB president said that change could be made in the squad till May 23 based on the performance of the players. Out of 19 players, who are currently in Ireland, the World Cup team will see the omission of 4 players having miserable performance in the tri-nation series, including host Ireland and West Indies.

Bangladesh World Cup Squad: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed Rahi, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain.

Bangladesh beats the higher-ranked team Cambodia in a FIFA International Friendly

Youngster Rabiul Hasan netted the ball in the 84^th minute of the match and led his team to a 1-0 victory against the host nation at Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With this triumph, the visiting side maintained their unbeaten record against Cambodia as they won twice and drew once in their last three encounters against the East Asian country. However, it was the first international goal for the 19-year-old player, who plays for Arambagh Krira Sangha in the domestic league. This win against a higher-ranked football team in their own ground in an international friendly on Saturday (March 9) certainly made the supporters of red and green ecstatic.

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Bangladesh could have won the match by a bigger margin had they not missed a few easy chances. On pen and paper, the 172^ndranked team Cambodia was favorite, but they were outshined by the performance of the tigers, who are currently ranked 192^nd in the latest FIFA ranking, throughout the match.

This victory was much needed for Bangladesh to enhance their morale. With this achievement, the men in red and green registered their first international win after five months as their last win came against Laos 1-0 at Sylhet District Stadiumin the Bangabandhu Gold Cup on October 1, 2018. It took them almost four years to get their first victory away from home as they last beat Bhutan 3-0 at Trivandrum International Stadium, Kariavattom, India in their SAFF Championship match. They also got a victory in the opponent team’s ground after six years as they last won against Nepal 2-0 at the Dasrath Rangosal Stadium in Kathmandu back on March 4, 2013.

Source:

https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/football/2019/03/09/bangladesh-beat-cambodia-1-0

Bowlers who have taken all 10 wickets in an innings in Test cricket

It is perhaps all bowlers’ dream to destroy the opponent team’s batting line up single-handedly. It is such a difficult and nearly impossible task that only a few cricketers have done it so far. However, many more players are likely to be included in this elite club in future, but the pitch being more batting friendly, it has become really very hard for bowlers to take all the wickets of an opponent team in an innings in the longest version of the cricket team. As cricket is a game of making new records, anything can happen. 

Jim Laker:

England’s right-arm off break bowler, James Charles Laker (who is popularly known as Jim Laker), became the first cricketer to achieve this feat in the history of cricket game. This incident took place at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1956 when the bowler picked up all 10 wickets of the Australian cricket team for 53 runs in 51.2 overs in the second innings of the fourth Test of the 1956 Ashes series. However, in the first innings of the same match, the spinner also bagged 9 wickets conceding 37 runs in 16.4 overs. The remaining one wicket of that innings was taken by Tony Lock. Jim Laker ended up taking 19 wickets for 90, which is a world record in first class cricket. Because of his outstanding performance, this match has become known as Laker’s match. He led his team to win the match by an innings and 170 runs. 

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Full Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17417/scorecard/62814/england-vs-australia-4th-test-australia-tour-of-england-1956 

Anil Kumble:

It looked like no other players will be able to touch this record. However, 43 years after Jim Laker set this record, Anil Kumble of India repeated the history at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi in 1999. The right-arm leg spinner (leg break googly) grabbed all 10 Pakistani wickets in the second innings of the 2^nd Test bowling 26.3 overs giving 74 runs. With this achievement, Anil Kumble became only the second bowler to reach the feat of taking all the wickets in an innings. However, in the first innings of the same match, he could pick up only four wickets, totaling to 14 for 149. Because of his good performance, India won the match by 212 runs.

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Full Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/15864/scorecard/63829/india-vs-pakistan-2nd-test-pakistan-tour-of-india-1998-99

Mehboob Alam:

Nepalese cricketer, Mehboob Alam, has also equaled this record, but his one is different from the other two players mentioned above because he has done it in the limited version of the cricket game. The left-arm fast bowler took all ten wickets of Mozambique giving 12 runs in 7.5 overs in a match during the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey. So far this is the best bowling figure in a limited over cricket match. Because of his superb bowling, the opponent team was bowled out for just 19 runs.

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Source:

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/wi/content/records/283203.html

https://www.quora.com/How-many-bowlers-have-taken-10-wickets-an-inning

https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/sports-news/i-can-remember-every-wicket-anil-kumble-reminisces-historic-all-ten-against-pakistan-20-years-on-6044191.html

https://www.indiatimes.com/sports/meet-richard-stokes-the-man-who-got-to-witness-both-10-wicket-hauls-in-test-cricket-335115.html

Bangladesh cricket team fails to avoid the whitewash

Despite scoring a century, Sabbir Rahman could not save his team from being whitewashed by the host New Zealand in the recently concluded 3-match ODI series. Once again the top-order batsmen failed to make some resistance with the bat. As a result, the Bangladesh cricket team lost the third and final ODI match by 88 runs at University Oval, Dunedin on Wednesday (February 20). They also lost the previous two matches by eight wickets.

Batting first, New Zealand scored 330 runs losing 6 wickets in their allotted overs. Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham scored 64, 69 and 59 runs respectively, while Neesham and Colin Grandhomme scored 37 runs each. Because of their collective effort, the home team could put on a mammoth chasing total for the opponent team.

Bowling 10 overs, Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets conceding 93 runs. Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mehidy Hasan Miraz are other bowlers who claimed one wicket each.

Coming to chase New Zealand’s 331-run target, the touring team was bowled out for 242 in 47.2 overs. Sabbir Rahman played an innings of 110-ball 102 with 12 fours and two sixes. Mohammad Saifuddin and Mehidy Hasan Miraz also played two handy innings of 44 and 37 runs respectively. Their innings helped the Tigers to avoid a shameful defeat.

For New Zealand, Tim Southee was the most successful bowler. He alone grabbed six wickets for 65, and for his performance he was later declared the Man-of-the-match. Trent Boult and Colin De Grandhomme took 2 and 1 wickets individually. 

Martin Guptill was named the Player-of-the-series.

The three-match Test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh will kick off from February 28.

Source:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12205708

Bangladesh starts the 3-match ODI series with a defeat against New Zealand

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the first ODI match played at McLean Park, Napier and took 1-0 lead of the 3-match ODI series on Wednesday (February 13). The Kiwi opener Martin Guptill played an unbeaten innings of 117 runs, which helped the home team to reach the target with 33 balls remaining at hand. He along with his opening partner Henry Nicholls put on 103 runs on the scoreboard in the first-wicket stand. However, Nicholls was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz on 53. Skipper Kane Williamson, who scored 11 runs from 22 balls, was trapped leg before by Mahmudullah. Guptill then made a 96-run third-wicket partnership with Ross Taylor who remained not out on 45. Both of them led the team towards victory.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh ODI captain, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, decided to bat first. Because of the failure of most of the top-order batsmen, the touring team could not make a competitive score. Mohammad Mithun and night watchman Mohammad Saifuddin could make some resistance with the bat. The duo made an 84-run partnership in the eighth-wicket stand, which lifted Bangladesh from 131 for 7 in the 29th over to 215 for 8 in the 45th over. Mohammad Mithun scored 62 off 90 balls while Mohammad Saifuddin scored 58-ball 41. Earlier Soumya Sarkar played an aggressive innings of 22-ball 30. Thanks to them, Bangladesh could make a decent total of 232 runs losing all wickets in 48.5 overs.

For New Zealand, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner bagged three wickets each while both Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson took two wickets.

Full Scorecard- http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18805/scorecard/1153844/new-zealand-vs-bangladesh-1st-odi-bangladesh-in-nz-2018-19

The second ODI match between New Zealand and Bangladesh will be played on February 16 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. No doubt, the visiting team will try their best to win the match and keep their hope alive of clinching the title. On the other hand, the host team will leave no stone unturned to win the second ODI match in order to secure their ODI series victory with one match left at hand. Let’s see what happens.

Source- https://en.prothomalo.com/sports/news/191116/Guptill-century-caps-easy-New-Zealand-win

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza wants to play competitive cricket for 20 years

Bangladesh ODI skipper, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, on Wednesday expressed his desire to complete twenty years of his cricket career. To reach his two-decade landmark, the 35-year-old right-arm fast-bowler will have to play competitive cricket- Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Dhaka Premier League (DPL) and other domestic leagues- for two more years. Since making his international debut in November 2001, he has played both professional and international cricket for over 18 years.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is not sure if he will be able to continue his international cricket career after a certain time, but he wants to play competitive cricket as long as his body will allow him to do so. However, he earlier said that he might take retirement from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is regarded the most successful ODI captain in the history of Bangladesh cricket. Under his leadership, Bangladesh cricket team has defeated almost all the strong teams in ODI format. His presence in the team encourages other players to perform better. During his career, he suffered many career-threatening injuries, which forced him not only to go under surgeries several times but also restricts him to limited overs cricket. He last played Test match in July 2009 and took retirement from T20Is in April 2017. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has so far played 202 ODIs, 36 Tests and 54 T20Is. 

Source:

https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/cricket/2019/02/07/mashrafe-targets-playing-cricket-for-20-years

http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/186594

Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium will be built in Purbachal within 2022

According to a decision taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), an international standard cricket stadium is going to be built on a 37.49-acre land in Dhaka’s Purbachal area over the next three years. This land has been allocated by the current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. For this reason, the cricket board has decided to name the cricket stadium after her to express their gratitude. The decision of constructing Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium has been taken at the fifth meeting of the Board of Directors chaired by the BCB President Nazmul Hassan Papon.

According to a report published by UNB, “The board has decided to invite an EOI for the consultancy of Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium project. A project implementation committee will be formed to oversee the construction, expected to be completed in three years.”

We, as the citizen of the nation, are well aware of the fact that how much our prime minister loves sports, especially cricket. During her reign, Bangladesh cricket team has improved a lot. They have become indomitable at home ground and are also doing good performance abroad. They have risen to seventh, ninth and tenth positions respectively in ODI, Test and T20I formats, as per the latest rankings announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC). 

Source:

http://www.unb.com.bd/category/Sports/sheikh-hasina-intl-cricket-stadium-in-purbachal-within-3-years-bcb/11879

Shakib Al Hasan loses his top position to Jason Holder

Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has lost his top position to West Indies captain Jason Holder in the ICC Rankings for the Test All-Rounders 2019. Among all three formats, Shakib Al Hasan maintained his dominance in the ICC Test all-rounder rankings. 

Following his all-round performance in the recently concluded first Test match against England at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Jason Holder has risen to the top position of the Test all-rounders’ rankings with 440 rating points. He scored an unbeaten double century and claimed two wickets, and because of his effort, the home team could beat the England cricket team by 381 runs. He has become the first Caribbean player after Sir Garry Sobers to achieve the number one spot in the ICC Test all-rounder rankings. He has also become the third player to score a Test double-hundred batting at No. 8 or lower.

Jason Holder is followed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, India’s Ravindra Jadeja, England’s Ben Stokes and South Africa’s Vernon Philander respectively in the second, third, fourth and fifth positions with 415, 387, 344 and 341 points accordingly.

The year 2018 was not good for Shakib Al Hasan. He sustained finger injury, which forced him to stay outside of the field for a long time. For this reason, he has lost his throne to other players and is now taking the second position in the all-rounder rankings of the Test, ODI and T20 formats. As a supporter of Bangladesh cricket team, I hope that he will regain his lost dominance in all three positions very soon. 

Mustafizur Rahman takes fifth place in the ICC ODI bowlers’ rankings

Mustafizur Rahman has perhaps become the first Bangladeshi cricketer to make his place among the top five players in the latest ICC ODI bowlers’ rankings. His good performance in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against West Indies has helped him to move five places up to fifth position with 695 rating points, his career best rank in ODIs ever. The southpaw, who claimed five wickets in three matches, is followed by Jasprit Bumrah (India), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Kuldeep Yadav (India) and Kagiso Rabada (South Africa).

Off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz has jumped 19 places to reach his career best ODI ranking of 28th after bagging six wickets against the Caribbean team. Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortazahas climbed 10 places up to 23rd. He also took the same number of wickets and along with Miraz shared the spot as the highest wicket taker in the series, which Bangladesh won 2-1 at home. However, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is ranked 26th in the ODI bowlers’ rankings.

Now, let us look at the position of the Bangladeshi batsmen in the ICC player rankings for ODI batsmen. The wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is enjoying his career-best 15th spot in the list with 712 rating points. Left-handed opening batsman Soumya Sarkar is ranked 42nd while his right-handed opening pair Liton Das is positioned 98th after rising four places. 

Source:

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/944893

Mustafizur Rahman is selected in the ICC ODI Team of the Year

Mustafizur Rahman became the only cricketer from Bangladesh to make his inclusion in the ICC ODI Team of the Year announced on January 22 (Tuesday). His good performance in the last year helped him to get this prestigious place. Playing 18 ODI matches, he took 29 wickets at an average of 21.72, with the best bowling figure of four for 43 against Pakistan in Asia Cup. He played an important role to beat Pakistan and take his team to the final of the tournament where their opponent team was India. 

Mustafizur Rahman along with Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and India’s Kuldeep Yadav jointly became the highest wicket taker in the 2018 Asia Cup. The left-arm pacer claimed 10 wickets at an average of 18.50. Because of his performance in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies, the lanky bowler became the fifth best bowler in the ICC ODI bowlers’ rankings, his career-best rank in ODIs so far.

The ICC ODI Team of the Year is dominated by the players of India and England as both countries have four players each. The remaining three players have been picked up from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was named as the captain of the team. However, players from Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies could not make their place in the squad.

ICC ODI Team of the Year 2018:Rohit Sharma (India), Jonny Bairstow (England), Virat Kohli (India) (capt), Joe Root (England), Ross Taylor (New Zealand),  Jos Buttler (England) (wk), Ben Stokes (England), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Kuldeep Yadav(India), Jasprit Bumrah (India).

Source-

https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/bangladesh-cricket/mustafizur-rahman-in-icc-odi-team-of-the-year-2018-1691242

Cricketers who hit six sixes in the same over

Cricket is a game of record. There are many records in this game. Every day many new records are being created. Old records are being broken and replaced by new ones. Some records have been created as a team effort while the others have been made as individual performance. Of these, hitting six sixes in a single over is perhaps the most difficult one. This trend has been set by Sir Garfield Sobers and till now, it has been carried forward by a selected number of cricketers. 

Sir Garfield Sobers: 

West Indies all-rounder, Sir Garfield Sobers, was the first cricketer to do this impossible task in the history of the cricket game. On August 31, 1968, the Caribbean hard-hitter astonished the cricket world by hitting six successive sixes in an over bowled by Malcolm Nash who despite being a genuine pace bowler tried his arm at spin bowling. The bowler had to pay the price for his wrong choice of bowling action.

This record took place in a first-class county cricket match where Garry Sobers led Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at St. Helen’s in Swansea. Of these six sixes, five were massive while the sixth one was caught by Roger Davis, but it was unfortunately carried over the boundary rope. Scoring 36 runs in the same over, he broke the record for the most runs, 34, in a single over, a record held by Ted Alletson for 57 years. 

Ravi Shastri:

This trend pioneered by Sir Garry Sobers could have been achieved by very few cricketers till now. Of them, Indian all-rounder, Ravi Shastri, became the second player to include his name in this elite club 16 years after the West Indian legend set this record. On January 10, 1985, he made this record while playing for Bombay against Baroda in Ranji Trophy. He smashed six deliveries for gigantic sixes off the left-arm spinner, Tilak Raj. In the same match, he scored a 123-ball double century that required him only 113 minutes, which became the fastest ever double century in first-class cricket history. Despite his brilliant performance, the match finished without any result. 

Herschelle Gibbs:

South African opening batsman, Herschelle Gibbs, became the third cricketer to repeat this history, but his one deserves more appreciation because he achieved this feat in international cricket, unlike the previous two players who did this in domestic cricket. On March 16, 2007, he equaled the record after bludgeoning the Dutch leg-spinner Daan van Bunge hitting for maximum on all six deliveries in an over in a match between South Africa and the Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup at St. Kitts in Basseterre. He remains the only batsman to hit six sixes off an over in ODI cricket format. He dispatched sixes around the park. 

Yuvraj Singh:

Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh, entered his name in the record book with his aggressive display of batting against England. He achieved this feat in a match at the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. The unlucky bowler was Stuart Broad. The flamboyant cricketer sent all balls off an over cleanly outside of the boundary. Before this performance, he had a heated argument with Andrew Flintoff and that might prompt him to punish the English pace bowler Stuart Broad. The interesting thing is that when Yuvraj was in action at the field, Ravi Shastri was on the microphone to call the action, and who could be better than him who has done the same thing 22 years ago. He played some brilliant innings that helped India win the trophy that year. 

Ross Whiteley:

English all-rounder, Ross Whiteley, became the second cricketer in the T20 format and the fifth overall to reproduce this record. On July 23, 2017, he took 37 runs, including six over boundaries and one wide, off Karl Carver in a match between Worcestershire Rapids and Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley. Despite his heroic effort, his club Worcestershire Rapids could not win the match in the T20 Blast.

Hazratullah Zazai:

Afghanistan's left-handed batsman, Hazratullah Zazai, included his name on the record book as the sixth cricketer to hit six sixes in the same over. On October 14, 2018, he reached the feat in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) while playing for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends. He smashed six sixes off Abdullah Mazari. He also became the third player to share this record with Yuvraj Singh and Ross Whiteley in T20 cricket format. Despite scoring 62 runs off 17 balls, his franchise could not win the match.

Kieron Pollard:

The Caribbean all-rounder, Kieron Pollard, added his name to the record book by hitting six consecutive sixes in an over against Akila Dananjaya of Sri Lanka. On March 3, 2021, he earned this feat in the first of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. After Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh, he became the third cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket.  

Naeem Islam:

Very few cricket lovers are aware of his achievement. Even his name cannot be found in any record list. It might be because he is a Bangladeshi player and he made this record in a domestic cricket match. On November 13, 2009, Naeem Islam struck six sixes while batting for Gazi Tanks against Mohammedan at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in a Dhaka Premier League match. The bowler was Marshall Ayub who gave 36 runs in the 49th over of the innings. Till now, no Bangladeshi player could touch this record either in domestic or international cricket.

This record list might be extended by many more players in the years to come. Let’s see who can be a part of this record.  

Sources:-

https://sportsinquiry.blogspot.com/2018/10/hazratullah-zazai-becomes-sixth-player.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_(cricket)#Sixes

https://www.quora.com/How-many-cricketers-have-hit-six-sixes-in-an-over

https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/six-players-who-have-hit-6-sixes-in-an-over

https://news.williamhill.com/cricket/six-sixes-cricket-over/

http://www.espncricinfo.com/bangladesh-v-west-indies-2012/content/story/591514.html?fbclid=IwAR14kByY0GDHkuWuR6H6IhqR3ukDg8QyUjYWVr55hXztTI9fDx6XpoIBO18

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/sobers-hit-records-six-2161120