Bangladesh 'A' earlier won the preceding three-match one-day series by a 2-1 margin.

A dramatic last-ball boundary shattered Khulna Tigers' Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) campaign to a heartbreaking end on Thursday. Yet, head coach Talha Jubair deserves credit for guiding a team lacking star power to the penultimate hurdle, marking another chapter in the former national pacer's coaching journey. The 39-year-old spoke to The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan about why he prefers being a bowling coach, the evolution of Bangladesh’s pace bowling and more. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Chittagong Kings pacer Khaled Ahmed has remained almost stoic in the face of personal tragedy and emerged as his team’s highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with 19 wickets.

Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed replaced Taskin Ahmed in the 15-member squad for the second Test against South Africa, scheduled to start on October 29, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Nahid Rana stunned the cricketing world with his raw pace during Bangladesh’s historic 2-0 Test series triumph over hosts Pakistan, clocking over 150 kmph while also claiming his career-best figures in the second Test. Even though Bangladesh cricket has been reaping the benefits of forming a potent pace group across formats in recent years, the factors behind the emergence of talented quicks have not been focused on a large scale. The Test series triumph against Pakistan in Rawalpindi would not have materialised if pacers like Hasan Mahmud, Nahid, Shoriful Islam, and Taskin Ahmed had not outshone the quicks of Pakistan -- a country historically known as the ‘land of pacers’. What comes as a hopeful sign for fans and a sweet headache for the team management is that these four aforementioned pacers are not the only ones available in the Tigers’ pace tank. Khaled Ahmed, who was also part of this Pakistan series, Ebadot Hossain, currently rehabilitating from an ACL injury that saw him out of action for more than a year, and white-ball regulars Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman are all part of the Tigers’ current pace battery. While they gel together in the national team under the guidance of foreign coaches, the story of their emergence began under local coaches to whom they turn to whenever needed. The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan reached out to Nahid, and the excerpts of his interview are provided below:

South African fast bowling legend Allan Donald has been heavily credited for his role in Bangladesh’s pace revolution during his tenure as the team’s pace bowling coach from March 2022 to November 2023. The 57-year-old, who resigned after the ICC World Cup in India, is still a big supporter of the Tigers and keeps in touch with the Bangladesh pacers. On Monday, Donald spoke with The Daily Star’s Samsul Arefin Khan over the phone from Johannesburg, where he expressed immense pleasure at seeing his former pupils doing so well in Pakistan. Here are the excerpts:

In total, the three bowlers made 84 runs while the other specialist bowler in the team, Nahid Rana, remained unbeaten on 0.

After an eventful opening day of the Sylhet Test yesterday, Bangladesh find themselves in a vulnerable position against Sri Lanka, paying dearly for the on-field and tactical errors they made on the day.

Bangladesh bowling coach Andre Adams asserted that there were no demons on the pitch after the end of Day 1 of the first Test at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on Friday.

Mohammad Imran Junior set the tone of the innings in the very first ball, when he rattled the stumps of Brandon King with an in-swinging yorker.

Pacer Khaled Ahmed's ten-wicket haul guided East Zone to their maiden Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) title with a comprehensive innings and 112-run win over North Zone at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium yesterday. The cricketer from Sylhet picked up seven wickets in the second innings to bundle North out for 132 runs. Khaled was also adjudged the player of the tournament as he ended the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps from two matches. With the urge to produce pace-conducive surfaces in order to enhance the quality of cricket in the domestic circuit, the 31-year-old's dominating performance came as a breeze of fresh air. In conversation with Mazhar Uddin of The Daily Star, the right-arm quick talked about the importance of playing on sporting pitches at home and his own progress among a few other topics. The excerpts of the interview are given below:

Bangladesh pacer Khaled Ahmed has marked his ODI debut with his maiden wicket when he dismissed New Zealand batter Chad Bowes in the eighth over of the innings in the second ODI of the three-match series between the two teams at the She-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Saturday.

Having made his Test debut back in November 2018, Khaled Ahmed then played in another Test at Hamilton in 2019 before he found himself jolted by injury. Waiting in the wings through the pandemic, Khaled resurfaced as a sort of red-ball specialist with good performances, especially away from home. While he struggled at home conditions, he has been able to leave a mark with away performances. Khaled talks about the two captains he has played under so far in Tests, how his bowling tends to be at home and away from home, working with Donald and attending the ‘white-ball camp’ in Sylhet last month with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi.

Shadman Islam’s double century and Khaled Ahmed’s five-wicket haul helped South Zone to their sixth Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) title with an innings and 33-run win over Central Zone in the finale in Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday.

The West Indies were cruising along nicely until Bangladesh picked three quick wickets near Lunch on day two of the second and final Test at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia today

Bangladesh fast bowler Khaled Ahmed said the Tigers will still be going for a win and that they want to take the game deep after the second day's play of the first Test against West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday. 

Despite having the big names of world cricket in Bangladesh's fast bowling coach over the years, with the likes of Courtney Walsh, Ottis Gibson and now Allan Donald working as the pace bowling coach, Bangladesh’s seam bowling department is yet to become an intimidating force, especially in the longest format of the game.

After the Test drubbing in the Caribbean in July this year, Bangladesh will be looking to get a measure of revenge on the West Indies when the return series gets underway with the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 22.