IPL 2021 | Rajasthan Royals draft West Indian Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas as replacements

In-form Bangladesh seek dominance on home turf; 'slightly younger' NZ look to leave a mark

Bangladesh have emerged to be a lethal force in the recent past. They defeated West Indies and Sri Lanka in ODIs at home, dominated Zimbabwe across formats in away fixtures and then thumped Australian 4-1 in T20Is on the home soil. Coach Russell Domingo acknowledged the team’s efforts and said that every series win is big. "Any series win is big," Domingo said. The side will now take on the Blackcaps in a five-match T20I series beginning on September 1, 2021, in Dhaka. The Bangladesh squad comprises some experienced customers who have the ability to win the matches single-handedly on a given day. From Mahmudullah to Shakib Al Hasan and from Mushfiqur Rahim to Mustafizur Rahman, the Asian side comprises players who have a vast amount of experience especially when it comes to the T20 format. While Rahim would be making a comeback to the T20I squad after he last played for Bangladesh in a Test against Zimbabwe in Harare, Shakib has been in some fine form with the ball. He scalped a total of 7 wickets in five matches against Australia in the bilateral tie and also produced some handy scores with the bat. Mahmudullah would be looking to get among runs especially keeping the upcoming World T20 in mind. He has managed to score only a half-century against Australia while was dismissed for a duck twice in five games. Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman also keeps an important position in this squad and a lot would depend on his cutters. He was pretty impressive during the Australian series especially with those slower and back of the hand deliveries. The fast bowler has been using these deliveries with some precision for quite some time now and IPL in May was an evident example of it during his stint with Rajasthan Royals. On the other side, New Zealand would be led by Tom Latham as regular skipper Kane Williamson has been rested for the tour. The Kiwis thumped Bangladesh to etch a 3-0 clean sweep at home in T20Is earlier this year. Though the team that has come on this tour of Bangladesh is a bit different, the side still has some names in the unit who have stamped their authority at the highest level. The spinners had a major impact during the Bangladesh and Australia series, thus Blackcaps' Ajaz Patel might prove to be the trump card for the visitors. He can keep the scoring rate under control and not let the batsmen run away with the game. Moreover, he has the ability to invite the batsmen to go for an aggressive stroke with his tossed up deliveries. New Zealand would be expecting Ajaz to be among wickets in this series. Match Details Match – Bangladesh vs New Zealand – 1st T20I Venue – Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka Time – 05:30 PM IST, 06:00 PM Local Where to watch live – Fancode Pitch Report The track in Dhaka might have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners in the initial phase of the game. But as the game progresses, the dew can also play some role. So, if you win the toss, elect to field first. Team News Bangladesh Wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is back in the side. But the team management is going to try a split-keeping method. "Sohan (Nurul) will keep wickets in the first two games," Domingo said ahead of the series. "The plan is to split wicket-keeping duties in this particular series, make it two games each and make a decision in the fifth game,” he said. Apart from this, all-rounder Shakib is in some good form and the team would be looking towards him to replicate what he did against the Aussie side. New Zealand New Zealand suffered a huge blow ahead of the series after wicket-keeper batsman Finn Allen had tested positive for Covid-19 after landing in Dhaka. He was subsequently replaced by Matt Henry. Apart from this, the visitors are without some of their key members. In fact, Latham had earlier said that it's an opportunity for him to grow as a leader with a slightly "younger side". "From a leadership point of view, you are always looking to grow and improve. This format presents another opportunity. I have had captaincy experience in the past. This is a slightly younger group," he said. Probable XI Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (w), Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Shamim Hossain Patwary, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam New Zealand: Cole McConchie, Tom Latham (c and wk), Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Rachin Ravindra, Scott Kuggelejin, Ajaz Patel, Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry Fantasy XI M Rahim, T Latham, Mahmudullah, L Das, H Nicholls, S A Hasan (C), S Kuggeleijn, Cole McConchie, H Bennett, A Patel, M Rahman (VC)

BCCI invites tender to own one of the two new franchises in IPL

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited the tender to own one of the two new franchises in the Indian Premier league (IPL). The party that would be interested will have to purchase an Invitation to Tender and make a payment of INR 10,00,000 plus GST before making their bid. The amount will be non-refundable. "The detailed terms and conditions governing the submission and evaluation of bids including eligibility requirements, a process for submissions of bids, proposed new teams' rights, and obligations, etc. are contained in the 'Invitation to Tender' ("ITT") which will be made available on receipt of payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 10,00,000 (Rupees Ten Lakhs Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax. The ITT will be available for purchase till October 5, 2021," the board said in a release on Tuesday (August 31). "Any interested party wishing to submit a bid is required to purchase the ITT. However, only those satisfying the eligibility criteria set out in the ITT and subject to the other terms and conditions set out therein, shall be eligible to bid. It is clarified that merely purchasing this ITT does not entitle any person to bid." The eligibility criteria though hasn’t been revealed in the release. The addition of a couple of more teams in the IPL was on the agenda of the BCCI during the AGM that was held in December last year.

Dale Steyn announces retirement from all formats of the game with Counting Crows’ ‘Long December’

Proteas pace ace Dale Steyn announced his retirement from all formats of the game on Tuesday, August 31. The 38-year-old made this announcement through a Twitter post where he wrote a letter that started with the famous lines of ‘A Long December’ by Counting Crows. Steyn, while thanking his family members, teammates, journalists and fans summarised his 20 years career in the lines of his favourite band Counting Crows. “And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself To hold on to these moments as they pass,” wrote Steyn as the opening lines of his retirement letter. The Proteas who played 93 Tests, 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is for his country having made his debut at the young age of 21, said that the journey has been filled with bittersweet memories, but has been grateful nonetheless. He further said that there are too many memories to tell and too many faces to thank and hence he would let experts put it in their words rather than telling about it himself. Steyn has to his credit most test wickets for a South African bowler with 439 scalps at 22.95 apiece. He last played a Test in 2019 against Sri Lanka.

Any series win is big: Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo

Bangladesh have tasted success in the recent past after they defeated West Indies and Sri Lanka in ODIs at home, Zimbabwe across formats in away fixtures and then thumped Australia 4-1 in T20Is on the home soil. Head coach Russell Domingo has now said that any series win keeps a lot of importance for the Bangladesh side. "Any series win is big," Domingo said. "I think winning against Sri Lanka and West Indies in the 50-over format were great achievements. So is winning all three formats in Zimbabwe,” he added. Bangladesh will now take on New Zealand in a five-match series at home scheduled to begin on September 1, 2021 in Dhaka. All the five clashes will take place at the same venue. The tracks during the Australia series didn’t really have much on offer for the batsmen and the bowler thoroughly dominated during the course. Talking about the pitch, Domingo said that he is expecting a good surface. “This time of the year with the humidity and rain around, there’s not much sun,” he said. “I am assuming a good, normal Mirpur wicket where 150-160 is a good score," the head coach added.