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Dutch-Bangla Bank Named BPL Title Sponsor
Sports Desk
06 Nov 2024, 14:02
Photo: Collected
Dutch-Bangla Bank has become the main sponsor for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Additionally, Dutch-Bangla Bank's mobile financial service, Rocket, and e-wallet app, NexusPay, will serve as powered-by sponsors and co-sponsors.
On Wednesday, November 6, this popular institution in the country announced its sponsorship for the BPL in a grand event at Mirpur’s Home of Cricket.
Present at the event were BCB Director Nazmul Abedin Fahim and Dutch-Bangla Bank’s Managing Director Abul Kasem Mohammad Shirin.
Dutch-Bangla Bank’s two mobile banking branches, Rocket and NexusPay, will also participate as associate sponsors for this season’s BPL.
Notably, the 11th season of the BPL will feature seven teams, including three new ones. The nearly month-and-a-half-long tournament will conclude on February 7 of next year.
This season’s seven BPL teams are Dhaka Capitals, Chittagong Kings, Durbur Rajshahi, Fortune Barishal, Khulna Tigers, Rangpur Riders, and Sylhet Strikers.
Among the previous teams, Comilla Victorians and Chattogram Challengers are not returning. Additionally, Dhaka's ownership has changed, and Durbur Rajshahi has rejoined the league.
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Mohammedan to Play in India’s IFA Shield
Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited, a team from the Bangladesh Premier League, has received an invitation to participate in India's prestigious IFA Shield tournament. The tournament is set to take place from November 9 to 21.
Last year, both Mohammedan and Bashundhara Kings were invited to play in the IFA Shield, but neither team participated due to domestic league commitments. This year, only Mohammedan has been invited.
If Mohammedan participates, they will be the only club from outside India in this year’s edition of the IFA Shield. The club sees the tournament as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season, according to Mohammedan's Director and Football Committee Secretary, Abu Hasan Chowdhury Prince.
He stated, “On Wednesday, we received a formal invitation from the IFA organizers. The chairman of our football committee has given the green light, and I’ve discussed it with our manager, Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. We are going to participate. The IFA has requested us to submit a list of 24 members. We plan to send a squad of 22 players along with 8 coaches and officials, and we will confirm our participation within two days.”
Shakib Reveals Real Reason for Joining Politics
Shakib Al Hasan, the best cricketer in Bangladesh, was nominated by the Awami League in the last 12th National Parliament election.
However, he was heavily criticized for entering politics before the end of his cricket career. Many people asked why Shakib joined politics. What is his purpose?
Shakib himself has revealed the real reason for joining politics, although he has been silent on this matter for a long time. This former member of parliament of Awami League clarified his political position through this post on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday (October 9).
In the post, Shakib wrote, "I was a Member of Parliament for Magura-1 constituency for a very short time. My involvement in politics was basically to get an opportunity for the development of the people of my birthplace Magura."
He also wrote, "You all know that in the context of Bangladesh, it is a bit difficult to play a direct role in the development of one's area without any specific responsibility and political position. My desire to develop this area makes me interested in becoming a Member of Parliament.
Shakib wants to retire from cricket with the upcoming South Africa Test. So there is fear about returning to the country. He clarified his political position to get security assurance from the government.
Back-to-Back Defeats Crush Tigresses' Semifinal Hopes
After a promising start with a win against Scotland in their first match of the Women's T20 World Cup, Bangladesh's hopes of reaching the semifinals have been dashed by two consecutive heavy defeats to England and the West Indies.
Although they are not yet mathematically out of the race for the semifinals, it seems nearly impossible to secure a spot after losing two out of three matches.
Aside from the consecutive losses, another major challenge for Nigar Sultana Joty and her team is their net run rate. Bangladesh currently sits in fourth place in Group B with 2 points and a negative net run rate of -0.835. The West Indies lead the group with 4 points and a net run rate of 1.708, while South Africa is in second place with 4 points and a net run rate of 1.527. Bangladesh will face South Africa in their final match.
England, having won two consecutive matches, is in third place with a net run rate of 0.653. Even if Bangladesh wins their last match against South Africa, it would be almost impossible to surpass the net run rates of South Africa and the West Indies.
On Thursday, October 10, Bangladesh set a target of 104 runs for the West Indies, but the Caribbean team chased it down easily, winning with 43 balls and 8 wickets in hand.
The West Indies openers, Hayley Matthews and Stefanie Taylor, got off to a strong start, putting up 52 runs. Matthews was dismissed after scoring 34 off 22 balls, and Taylor retired hurt after making 27 off 29 balls.
Despite a few setbacks, the West Indies comfortably reached the target, thanks to an unbeaten 19 runs from Deandra Dottin, securing the victory with 43 balls and 8 wickets remaining.
Earlier, after losing the toss and being sent to bat, Bangladesh had a decent start. However, openers Sathi Rani (9 off 12 balls) and Dilara Khatun (19 off 18 balls) couldn't build substantial innings.
Captain Nigar Sultana Joty and Sobhana Mostary steadied the innings, taking Bangladesh to 58 runs by the 10th over. However, Mostary was dismissed for 16 off 22 balls.
Bangladesh then lost Taj Nehar and Swarna Akter in quick succession, leaving them at 75/5 in the 15th over. Nigar Sultana fought valiantly, scoring 39 off 44 balls, but her dismissal late in the innings left Bangladesh with a total of 103/8.
Despite the valiant effort, the score proved insufficient, and Bangladesh now faces an uphill battle in their World Cup campaign.
Argentina Held, Brazil Leave It Late in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela on Lionel Messi's return as Brazil got their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Chile on Thursday. Bss News.
Messi, who missed Argentina's last round of fixtures in September due to injury, looked to have put the world champions on course for victory after his free-kick helped set up Nicolas Otamendi's 13th-minute opener in the Venezuelan city of Maturin.
But a battling performance by Venezuela in front of their home fans was rewarded midway through the second half when veteran striker Salomon Rondon met Yeferson Soteldo's cross with a header that flew past Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
Despite the dropped points, 2022 World Cup winners Argentina remains firmly on course for a place at the 2026 finals, which are being staged in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
With the tournament expanded to 48 teams, the top six finishers in South America's 10-team round-robin qualifying competition will earn a ticket to the finals.
Argentina leads the standings with 19 points from nine games, three points clear of second-placed Colombia, who suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bolivia in other qualifying action on Thursday.
Yet while Argentina looks poised to qualify comfortably, rivals Brazil continue to make hard work of their qualifying campaign.
Chile, who are one place off the bottom of the standings, rocked Brazil after just two minutes when veteran striker Eduardo Vargas steered a looping header over Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to make it 1-0.
But Brazil drew level in first-half stoppage time after Savinho worked himself into space before crossing for Botafogo forward Igor Jesus to head home.
The match looked destined to finish in a draw until the 89th minute, when Brazil substitute Luiz Henrique arrowed in a low shot from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.
The win moves Brazil into fourth place in the standings with 13 points from nine games, six points adrift from leaders Brazil.
- Bolivia boost –
Elsewhere Thursday, Bolivia boosted their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 1994 with their gutsy 1-0 win over Colombia in a game played in the thin air of El Alto, which is situated at around 4,150m (13,600 feet) above sea level.
A superb individual goal from Miguel Terceros handed the Bolivians their fourth victory in qualifying and vaulted them up into the automatic qualification positions.
Bolivia's fortunes have taken a dramatic upturn since the team started playing qualifiers in El Alto, which is just over 500m higher than the Bolivians' usual home venue of the Estadio Hernando Siles in nearby La Paz.
Bolivia opted to move fixtures to El Alto after losing two out of their opening three home qualifiers in La Paz last year.
The move has paid off, with Thursday's 1-0 win coming after a 4-0 rout of Venezuela at the same venue in September.
After claiming a shock 2-1 win away to Chile last month, Bolivia are now sitting in sixth place in the South American standings with 12 points from nine games.
Terceros's winning goal arrived in the 58th minute, with the 20-year-old winger who plays for Brazilian club Santos cutting in from the right flank, shimmying past Colombian defenders Jhon Lucumi and Kevin Castano and unleashing a left-footed thunderbolt that flew into the top corner.
Bolivia are level on points with Ecuador, who finished the day in fifth place in the table after a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Quito.
Ronaldo Scores as Portugal Secures Another Victory
Portugal's journey in this year's Nations League began with a match against Croatia in September. Cristiano Ronaldo found the net in both that match and the subsequent game against Scotland, contributing to victories for Portugal. In another win on Saturday (October 12), Ronaldo scored in a 3-1 triumph over Poland, under the management of Roberto Martinez.
With three consecutive wins, Ronaldo has also scored in each of these matches. This marks his 133rd goal in 215 appearances for the national team. To reach the prestigious milestone of 1,000 goals, he needs 94 more. The 39-year-old star has netted 773 goals at the club level.
In addition to Ronaldo's goal, Bernardo Silva scored one of Portugal's other goals, while the other was an own goal. Piotr Zielinski scored the lone goal for Poland.
The match featured a showdown between Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. The latter's team, playing as the underdogs, ultimately suffered defeat. Poland last won against Portugal in 2006, with their record in the subsequent six matches consisting of three losses and three draws—an indication of their past performance lingering in this match as well.
Ronaldo could have opened the scoring in just 10 minutes, but his shot hit the crossbar while attempting a tap-in. Silva put the team ahead in the 26th minute with a bullet shot from a Bruno Fernandes assist. Maintaining his scoring streak, Ronaldo found the net in the 37th minute when he tapped in a rebound from Rafael Leão's shot. Poland responded with a goal in the 78th minute, but ten minutes later, defender Jan Bednarek scored an own goal.
With three consecutive wins, Portugal sits at the top of Group A in League A. Poland holds third place with three points, while Croatia is in second with six points.
In other matches of the day, Spain defeated Denmark 1-0, Serbia won 2-0 against Switzerland, and Romania triumphed over Cyprus 3-0. The match between Belarus and Northern Ireland ended in a draw.
BPL Players Draft: / Litton Joins Dhaka, Taskin Picked by Rajshahi
The BPL (Bangladesh Premier League) player draft is underway at the five-star Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. The draft proceedings began at 11:30 AM on Monday, October 14. Several players, including Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed, have already found teams early in the draft.
Taskin Ahmed was picked by Durbar Rajshahi from Category 'A'. On the other hand, Dhaka Capitals secured national team opener Litton Das. Chattogram Kings picked Shamim Hossain Patwary from Category 'B'. National team pacer Hasan Mahmud, also from Category 'A', was selected by Khulna Tigers.
In Category 'C', promising young pacer Nahid Rana joined Rangpur Riders, while Ronny Talukdar was signed by Sylhet Strikers. Meanwhile, recently retired from international T20s, Mahmudullah was picked by Fortune Barishal, led by Tamim Iqbal.
This year’s draft allocated a maximum of 6 million BDT for Category 'A' players. A total of 188 local players were finalized across six categories.
Shakib Khan Joins BPL Draft
For the first time, Dhallywood superstar Shakib Khan's cosmetics brand Remark-Harlan has acquired a team in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He will co-own the Dhaka Capitals franchise in the upcoming season.
The buzz around BPL is already building, with the players' draft taking place today, Monday, at a five-star hotel in Dhaka. Shakib Khan made an appearance at the event alongside his franchise, marking his debut in team management at the BPL draft.
Speaking about his involvement, Shakib said, “We received overwhelming responses from cricket fans at home and abroad in selecting our team’s name. We are excited and have finalized the name as Dhaka Capitals, considering everyone's feedback.”
“I believe Dhaka Capitals will achieve its desired success with your love and support,” he added.
Globally popular leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL) have seen celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Juhi Chawla, and Shilpa Shetty own franchises. With Shakib Khan becoming the first Bangladeshi actor to purchase a BPL team, a new chapter begins in the league’s history.
In the 11th edition of BPL 2025, the league will feature seven teams, including new franchises Dhaka Capitals, Chattogram Kings, and Durbar Rajshahi. While Chattogram Kings had previously participated, Dhaka and Rajshahi are making their debut. As new teams, they haven't retained any players from past seasons.
