The playoff stage of the Bangladesh Premier League is beginning to take shape as the league phase is coming to an end. The race for the top four spots is heating up. With the business end of the tournament looming, star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has found his touch with the bat. He is making up ground on his pre-set standards and once again is in contention for a Player of the Tournament award. 

Who authorised the selection of the national selector became a pertinent question yesterday after vice-chairman of cricket operations committee and national team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon expressed surprise at the manner of Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu’s appointment.

Lipu said, “There will be freedom, it was discussed with me... Since it’s team selection, obviously captain and coach will be involved.”

“I am the vice-chairman of cricket operation, still I didn’t know anything. This is what surprised me the most”

For years, there have been murmurs about the selection panel not having complete freedom to choose the players that they want.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) held the ninth board meeting of the incumbent board yesterday where changes made in captaincy and the selection panel were the biggest highlights.

In the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, we take a look back on World Cups past through the eyes of Bangladesh’s former World Cup stars. Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu was one of the first players to dream that one day, Bangladesh would play at the ICC Cricket World Cup. He was the Tigers’ first ODI captain