United News of Bangladesh

Former national football team captain Aminul Haque has been appointed as the State Minister for the Ministry of Youth and Sports under the technocrat quota. Aminul, a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been active in politics following his retirement from professional sports. His appointment comes after a period of political struggle; during the previous Awami League government, he faced imprisonment and harassment. In the recently concluded 13th National Parliamentary Election, Haque contested from the Dhaka-16 constituency but lost by a narrow margin. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officially welcomed the appointment on Tuesday. In a media statement, BCB President Aminul Islam congratulated the new State Minister, noting that his background would be an asset to the administration. "The appointment of a distinguished sports figure like Aminul Haque as State Minister for Youth & Sports is a significant step for Bangladesh," the BCB President said. "Having led the national football team with pride, he understands the realities, challenges, and aspirations of athletes firsthand". While his playing career is highlighted by leading Bangladesh to the 2003 SAFF Championship title, he is now tasked with steering the nation's sports administration as its top guardian.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Monday dismissed speculations that its president Aminul Islam has left the country permanently following the recent general election. Board officials clarified Aminul Islam is currently in Australia on a personal visit to meet his family and is scheduled to return. Rumours of Aminul’s departure gained traction after several media outlets suggested he might not return, given that the interim government under which he took office is set to hand over power within a day. BCB president Aminul skips India-Pakistan clash in Colombo Adding to the speculation is the fact that Aminul was a resident of Australia before assuming the BCB presidency. Amzad Hussain, BCB Director and Chairman of the Media Committee, told UNB, “He went to meet his family. From there, he will join the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars final match. Then he will come back.”   The controversy surrounding Aminul’s travel comes at a turbulent time for Bangladesh cricket. The national team recently opted out of the ongoing T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, citing security concerns in India. The BCB had requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka, a plea that was ultimately rejected. BCB files GD against ‘fabricated’ fixing rumors involving president While some cricket analysts have labeled the withdrawal a diplomatic failure on Islam’s part, the BCB and the outgoing interim government have stood firm on their decision. They maintain that the safety of Bangladeshi players, fans and journalists in India could not be guaranteed and have expressed no regret over the move.

Pakistan secured revenge for its upset loss to the United States two years ago with a 32-run win at the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, while New Zealand openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen set a new record for the highest partnership in the tournament’s history. In Colombo, Pakistan registered its second straight victory in Group A by defeating the U.S., which had stunned it in Texas in 2024. The win comes ahead of Pakistan’s much-anticipated clash with India on Sunday, a match set to proceed after Pakistan withdrew its earlier boycott decision. After being sent in to bat, Pakistan posted 190-9, powered by 73 from opener Sahibzada Farhan and 46 from Babar Azam. Despite fast bowler Shadley van Schalwyk claiming four wickets for the second time in the tournament, Pakistan built a strong total. Babar overcame a slow start, scoring 15 off 18 balls before accelerating to finish at a strike rate of 143.75. Pakistan ended boycott because Bangladesh’s demands were met: PCB chief The U.S. struggled against Pakistan’s spin attack under lights at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Mystery spinner Usman Tariq took 3-27, while Shadab Khan claimed 2-26. Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed also picked up wickets as Pakistan used five spinners effectively. Shubham Ranjane scored 51 off 30 balls and Shayan Jahangir made 49 off 34, but the U.S. failed to build momentum. Tariq’s unusual bowling action troubled batters as he dismissed Harmeet Singh and Mohsin Ali off consecutive deliveries. The U.S. finished short, handing Pakistan a comfortable win. Meanwhile in Chennai, New Zealand cruised to a 10-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates after Seifert and Allen shared an unbeaten 175-run opening stand, the highest partnership for any wicket in men’s T20 World Cup history. Seifert struck 89 not out off 42 balls, following up his earlier half-century against Afghanistan. Allen remained unbeaten on 84 from 50 deliveries. New Zealand chased down UAE’s 173-6 in just 15.2 overs, reaching 175-0 for its second successive win in Group D. Earlier, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem made 66 not out off 45 balls and Alishan Sharafu added 55 as the team posted a competitive total. However, New Zealand’s aggressive start, including 78 runs in the power play, put the game beyond UAE’s reach. Seifert hit 12 fours and three sixes, including the winning shot, while Allen contributed five fours and five sixes. The previous tournament record of 170 runs was set by England’s Alex Hales and Jos Buttler against India in 2022. In New Delhi, Bas de Leede delivered an all-round performance to guide the Netherlands to a seven-wicket win over Namibia in Group A. De Leede took 2-20 as Namibia scored 156-8. He then scored an unbeaten 72 off 48 balls, hitting four sixes and five boundaries, to help the Dutch reach 159-3 in 18 overs and secure their first victory of the tournament.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has cautioned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that it could face legal action from the T20 World Cup’s official broadcasters, JioStar, over Pakistan’s decision to boycott its February 15 match against India, a PCB source said on Tuesday. Pakistan decided not to play the high-profile match in Colombo following instructions from its government, but the PCB has yet to formally convey the reasons for the boycott to the ICC. According to a PTI report, the ICC is considering withholding Pakistan’s entire annual revenue share, estimated at around USD 35 million, and using that amount to compensate the broadcasters. A PCB source said chairman Mohsin Naqvi had consulted the board’s legal team before briefing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the matter last week, but the board is now preparing for serious repercussions. “If Pakistan does not back down and play against India, they could face heavy financial penalties, a possible lawsuit from broadcasters, and even an appeal to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee is unlikely to succeed,” the source told PTI. Prove you are fair: Pakistan legend Afridi tells ICC supporting Pakistan’s boycott The ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee is an internal body that does not entertain appeals against decisions taken by the ICC Board itself. Another PCB source pointed out that Pakistan’s position could be further weakened because the team is already playing all its matches at a neutral venue in Sri Lanka, a condition it had sought instead of playing in India. The source also noted that while the Indian government has not allowed its team to tour Pakistan, it has not prevented India from playing Pakistan at neutral venues in Asia Cup or ICC tournaments, even after the conflict in May. The PCB has not yet sent a written communication to the ICC, though the boycott is reportedly being viewed as an act of solidarity with Bangladesh following their ouster. India to show up at stadium as Pakistan confirms boycott of Feb 15 clash “When the ICC signed a four-year broadcasting deal for its events, India-Pakistan matches were a key component of that contract, and payments were made accordingly,” the source said. “As a result, the broadcaster would be well within its rights to take both the PCB and the ICC to court over what it sees as a major breach of contract.” #With inputs from NDTV

The launch of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), which was scheduled for this summer, has been pushed back to 2026. The delay is largely due to three prospective franchise owners shifting their focus to finalizing stake acquisitions in The Hundred, England’s city-based cricket competition. The ETPL, partly owned by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, was set to feature teams from Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, with matches planned between July 15 and August 3 across cities including Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. Cricket Ireland is leading the project in coordination with its Scottish and Dutch counterparts. Although negotiations for at least half of the six city-based teams are nearing completion, the involved investors have prioritized their interests in The Hundred after the ECB extended its sales deadline in April. This shift has caused a ripple effect, ultimately leading to the ETPL's postponement. A formal announcement is expected within two days. Bachchan, who co-owns the league through Indian firm Rules Sport Tech, had actively promoted the tournament in Ireland earlier this year. Despite the setback, organizers remain optimistic, insisting the ETPL will avoid the fate of the Euro T20 Slam—an earlier attempt at a similar league that was indefinitely postponed after multiple delays since 2019. Cricket boards from Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands have declined to comment on the situation.   

England ousted Zimbabwe cricketers at a rate on Friday that suggested their four-day test will be over with a day to spare at Trent Bridge. Despite an acclaimed fightback by Zimbabwe for much of the second day, the visitor was out for 265 and forced to follow on. At stumps, Zimbabwe was 30-2, still 270 runs away from making England bat again. A magnificent maiden test century by opener Brian Bennett kept Zimbabwe's spirit aflame, but his exit for 139 after tea sparked a collapse of six wickets for 26 runs, including Bennett in the second innings for 1. Rain won't appear to save Zimbabwe on Saturday, when clouds will return, giving England's battery ideal conditions to wrap up a big win in the first test matchup between the teams in 22 years. Centuries on Thursday by Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope staked England to an intimidating 498-3 overnight on a flat pitch. The innings was declared at 565-6 after nine more overs on Friday morning. Pope added two runs to his overnight 169 until he drove at Tanaka Chavinga and nicked behind, ending the third highest of his eight hundreds. Captain Ben Stokes was bounced out, and declared when Harry Brook chopped on for 58 off 50 balls. Sam Cook, the first England debutant to bowl the first over in 32 years, was welcomed to test cricket by Bennett hitting three successive boundaries. But Cook got his maiden wicket in just his third over when Ben Curran edged to Brook at second slip. That was the only Zimbabwe wicket to fall by lunch, taken at 73-1 with Bennett and Craig Ervine cruising. Ervine, on 42, was also caught by Brook, and was the 50th test wicket for off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. He's England's youngest to the milestone at 21. Bashir also claimed Sean Williams. But soon after, Bashir left the field with a bloodied pinkie finger when he tried a caught-and-bowled against Sikandar Raza. Stokes finished bowling the over and another chance was mishandled when Joe Root at first slip dropped a sitter off Bennett on 89. An unfazed Bennett rushed to his century in the next over after hitting three straight boundaries against pacer Gus Atkinson. Angelo Mathews to retire from Tests after Bangladesh match Trent Bridge stood to applaud Bennett's maiden ton and the fastest test century by a Zimbabwean, in 97 balls. But Zimbabwe hopes of sighting the follow-on target of 416 were ruined by a double strike by Stokes in his first bowling stint in six months. He got Raza to nick behind and bowled Wessly Madhevere to have 2-3 off 2.2 overs. By tea, Zimbabwe was 210-5 and Bennett was steaming at 122 off 112 balls but running out of partners with teammate Richard Ngavara unavailable after suffering a back spasm on Thursday. Bennett was undone when he popped a Josh Tongue delivery to Pope at short leg. Bennett's 139 off 143 balls included 104 runs in boundaries. He received another standing ovation. Bashir returned to help wrap up the extra-short tail and took 3-62. Forced to follow on with 10 overs left in the day, Zimbabwe's first-innings leaders were both removed for the second time in the day; Bennett by Atkinson leg before on 1 and Ervine caught at short leg on 2.

All the 18 rebel national women's footballers of the SAFF Women's Champions Bangladesh Football team finally signed a six-month contract with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) recently . With the inclusion of 18 rebel booters, all the preliminary selected 53 women's footballers, are now under the BFF payroll in different categories. Earlier in the first phase in February, thirty five preliminarily selected women's footballers signed six-month contract with BFF. Eight national booters out of 18 are now in national training camp in Dhaka under the team's Head Coach Peter Butler. The rest 10 booters, now in Bhutan,to play in the Bhutan Women's National Football League, signed contract with BFF recently from Bhutan, Chairman of the BFF Women’s Wing  Mahfuza Akter Kiron confirmed. A record ten players will play together in the Bhutan national women’s league beginning on May 10. BCL Football: Arambagh KS beat BFF Elite Academy by 2-0 goals Four players --Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun, SAFF's best player Ritu Porna Chakma, reliable national booters Monika Chakma and Matsushima Sumaya will play for Paro FC. national defender Masura Parvin, SAFF's best goalkeeper Rupna Chakma and Krishna Rani Sarkar will play for the Transport United while Maria Manda, Sanjida Akter and Shamsunnahar Sr will play for Thimphu City. Of the above 10 national booters, nine booters except Matsushima Sumaya, signed contract with BFF in the highest Grade A of Tk 55,000, Tk 5000 more than the previous contract along with another  four other players The four other Grade A footballers are : Tahura Khantun. Sheuly  Azim, Shamsun Nahar Jr and Nilufa Yesmin Nila        The BFF is conducting women's national training camp under head coach Peter Butler ahead of their two international friendly matches against Jordan on May 31 and with Indonesia on June 3, both the matches will be held in Jordan.  Earlier in January 30,  18 rebel national women's footballers boycotted the national training camp under head coach Peter Butler raising some allegations against him.

Bangladesh U-19 took a strong 3-1 lead in the six-match youth ODI series against Sri Lanka with a 146-run win in Colombo on Friday. Opening batter Zawad Abrar starred with a century, finishing on 100 off 95 balls. He reached the landmark in style, hitting a flicked six in the 35th over after a 133-run stand with Rizan Hasan. This was Zawad’s second hundred of the series, having earlier scored an unbeaten 130 in the second match. Bangladesh posted 336 for 8 — their second-highest total in Youth ODIs. Rizan supported Zawad with 82 off 77 balls. In the final overs, Samiun Bashir (23 off 8) and Al Fahad (19 off 5) added vital runs to lift the score further. Bangladesh eliminated from Women’s U-19 World Cup after losing to India Chasing 337, Sri Lanka were never in the game. They lost four wickets inside 36 runs and were eventually bowled out for 190 in 38.4 overs. Captain Bimath Dinsara’s half-century was the only highlight for the hosts. Pacer Al Fahad picked up 3 for 41 while left-arm spinner Sanjid and captain Azizul Hakim took two wickets each. With this win, Bangladesh have ensured they won’t lose the series. Zawad now has a chance to match Towhid Hridoy’s record of three centuries in a youth bilateral series for Bangladesh, with two matches still to play.

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will renew their Test rivalry as they meet in the first match of a two-Test series starting Sunday at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The second Test will follow in Chattogram from April 28. The two teams have faced each other 18 times in Tests, with Bangladesh winning eight — their highest number of Test victories against any single opponent. However, Sylhet holds mixed memories for the hosts, who have won only once in three Tests at this venue. Their last meeting here in 2018 saw Zimbabwe secure a commanding 151-run win. Both teams arrive with questions hanging over their consistency in the longest format. Zimbabwe have played just four Tests in the past two years, losing three. Bangladesh, in contrast, played 13 and won five, but their top-order batting has remained a concern. “We have to be more consistent at the top. I personally got out after scoring 30 or 40 on several occasions last year, which is not acceptable. We’re trying to improve,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said ahead of the match.  “We want to play with the intent to win and post the runs necessary to take 20 wickets. The body language has to reflect that,” he added, expressing the importance of a shift in mindset.  With pace-friendly conditions expected in Sylhet, both teams are likely to lean on their fast bowlers. “There’s grass on the wicket. It looks pace-friendly. We’ve trained here for a couple of days and are confident with our preparations,” Craig Ervine, the Zimbabwe skipper, said.  Ervine also said Zimbabwe are embracing a no-fear attitude and looking at the series as an opportunity for young players to gain vital experience in subcontinental conditions. “We haven’t played a lot in Bangladesh, but that’s part of the learning curve. The players are keen to soak up knowledge and adapt,” he added.  Bangladesh’s young pacer Nahid Rana, who can bowl consistently over 140 km/h, has caught attention ahead of the match. “We’ve told him to keep bowling at that pace,” the Bangladesh captain said.  Bangladesh team: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Jaker Ali, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mominul Haque, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Nahid Rana. Zimbabwe team: Craig Ervine (capt), Ben Curran, Nyasha Mayavo, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nick Welch, Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Wessly Madhevere, Sean Williams, Trevor Gwandu, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Vincent Masekesa.

Four times champions  Bangladesh Men's Hockey team will fly for Indonesia Tuesday (April 15)  early hour at 2:30 am by a Thai flight in a hope to repeat their feat in the AHF Cup Hockey Tournament '2025 billed for Indonesia capital Jakarta from April 17 to 27. Earlier on last Sunday, Bangladesh Hockey Federation ( BHF) announced a 26- member Bangladesh national team, consists of 18 players and eight officials. BKSP emerge unbeaten champions outplaying Kishoreganj in hockey Celebrated forward Rasel Mahmud Jimmy dropped from team earlier due to age limit  while Mehrab Hossain Samin, who guided the Bangladesh U-21 team to the  Youth World Cup Hockey, also excluded from the squad. Senior player Pushkar Kisha Mimo named as the new captain of the Bangladesh National Hockey team for the AHF Cup Hockey,  a  qualifying tournament for the Men's Asia Cup Hockey. Holders Bangladesh will compete in the 10-nation AHF Cup Hockey alongwith Oman, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Singapore and Kazakhstan to repeat their feat  Top two teams of the AHF Cup Hockey will qualify for the eight-team Men's Asia Cup Hockey to be held in the Indian city of Rajgir, Bihar from Aug 27 to Sept 7. Six teams--Defending champions South Korea, hosts India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and China--will directly play in the final round of the Men's Asia Cup Hockey. Players of the Bangladesh national team are: Pushkar Kisha Mimo (Captain), Fazle Hossain Rabbi (Vice Captan), Huzaifa Hossain, Rezaul Karim Babu, Sohanur Rahman Sabuj, Farhad Ahmed Shetul, Ashraful Islam, Amirul Islam, Abed Uddin, Nayemuddin, Al Nahian Shuvo, Roman Sarkar, Arshad Hossain, Obaidul Hossain Joy, Rakibul Hasan, Mahbub Hossain, Biplob Kuzur and Abu Sayed Nikson. Women's Hockey: BKSP to face Kishoreganj DSA in final Saturday Eight officials are: Syed Bayazid Haider ( Manager), Kazi Abu Zafar Tapan (Assistant Manager), Mamumur Rashid (Head  Coach), Moshiur Rahman Biplob ( Assistant Coach), Alamgir Islam ( Trainer), Saifuddin Ahmed ( Physio),Taposh Barman (Video Analyst ) and Ismail Hossain Liton (Umpire).