Sports

  Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government's sports advisor, on Thursday said that the ICC and the BCCI made no effort to convince the Bangladesh Cricket Board of the security for their players in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India and Sri Lanka. He also added that they did not deliver justice to their plea of shifting matches to Sri Lanka. On Wednesday, the  ICC rejected Bangladesh's plea to relocate their venues from India to Sri Lanka, and instead gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board 24 hours to make a decision on their participation. The ICC has also kept Scotland as a standby if Bangladesh eventually doesn't agree to travel to India to take part in the tournament. Nazrul, who had a  meeting with national cricketers  on Thursday, told reporters that they are not ready to change their stance. "The purpose of the meeting was simply to explain to the players why the government took this decision and give them the context. I believe they under...

  Mumbai Indians have named left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma as a replacement for wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini, who has been ruled out of the remainder of WPL 2026 with an unspecified injury. Kamalini, 17, featured in five matches for MI in the ongoing season, managing an aggregate of 75 runs with a best of 32 in the tournament opener against RCB. Vaishnavi, who will join the franchise for INR 30 lakh, arrives with growing pedigree. The left-arm spinner was part of India's title-winning squad at the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup in 2025 and has since taken the next steps, making her senior international debut recently in the five T20Is against Sri Lanka that preceded this WPL season. The 20-year-old Vaishnavi also recently earned a call-up to the ODI side for the tour of Australia set to begin after the WPL season. Two-time winners Mumbai Indians are currently placed second in the WPL 2026 standings, having won two of their first five games. TAGS Mumbai Indians Women Vaishna...

  Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government's sports advisor, on Tuesday again indicated that they are  not ready to change  their stance as far as playing the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in India is concerned. Asif also brushed aside speculation that Scotland might replace them in the showpiece event if Bangladesh opts out, as they are refusing to play in India citing security concerns, and have asked the ICC to shift their matches to co-host Sri Lanka. Over the weekend, the BCB held talks with ICC officials in Dhaka over the impasse, but no agreement was reached as the BCB requested the ICC to change their venue after the BCCI directed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their squad amid prevailing political tensions between the two countries. It is understood that the ICC has set January 21 as the deadline to resolve the matter, as they are running out of time. If they have to replace Bangladesh with Scotland, who are the highest-ranked team t...

  Tilak Varma is fine and will be ready for international action soon, said DB Ravi Teja, the coach of the Hyderabad cricket team, denying speculation that the ace India T20 batter could be in danger of missing the Twenty20 World Cup. Tilak's next international assignment is the T20 home series against New Zealand, starting on January 21 in Nagpur, exactly two weeks from today. The Hyderabad coach said the 23-year-old left-handed batter, hero of India's Asia Cup triumph in Dubai, will be ready for the five-match series itself, even as there is speculation in certain quarters of the media and social media that his availability for the Twenty20 World Cup, starting on February 7, could be doubtful. "It was a very minor surgery he underwent in Rajkot on Wednesday. There is nothing serious or alarming about it. He will be ready in three to four days," the 38-year-old Andhra-born Hyderabad coach told Cricbuzz on Thursday. Tilak went under the knife for testicular torsion in...

  The Bangladesh Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday instructed all broadcasters in the country to stop airing the Indian Premier League. The directive followed the exclusion of fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2026 season. In the aftermath, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, citing security concerns, had also decided not to play their T20 World Cup matches in India and formally requested the ICC to relocate their fixtures. The broadcasting ban was issued through an official notification on Monday (January 5), signed by assistant secretary Firoz Khan. It applies to all IPL matches and related programming and will remain in effect until further notice. According to the notice, the ministry took cognisance of the decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to leave Mustafizur out of the KKR squad for the IPL season scheduled to begin on March 26, 2026. "No reasonable justification for such a decision is known," the no...

  Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Friday that they will host India for a three-match ODI series and as many T20Is in August-September 2026. "The  series that was postponed earlier  between Bangladesh and India has been rescheduled," Shahriar Nafees, BCB cricket operations in-charge, told Cricbuzz. Indian team is now scheduled to arrive on August 28, with the ODI games to be played on September 1, 3, and 6. The T20Is will be played on September 9, 12, and 13 before the neighbours return home. BCB announced Bangladesh's home international schedule for the 2026 season on Friday, with the calendar featuring bilateral series against Pakistan, New Zealand, India, Australia, and the West Indies across the three formats. "The confirmed itinerary ensures a season full of international cricket in Bangladesh, providing supporters across the country the opportunity to watch top-level cricket at home, while details of match venues will be announced in due course," BCB ...