World T20 2021: Bangladesh likely to reach Oman early

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said that the squad for the World T20 is likely to reach Oman six to seven days earlier than they should have according to the ICC rules, just to get used to the conditions. 

It also said that the side has had some preparation going into the tournament as it has toured Zimbabwe, have hosted Australia recently and the Blackcaps are also scheduled to visit the Asian nation for a five-match T20I series. 

"We have been having a great preparation leading up to the World Cup. We toured Zimbabwe, hosted Australia and New Zealand next. We will go there early to make adequate preparations," BCB Cricket Operations Committee chairman Akram Khan told the media in a briefing.

"It is certain that we will go to Oman six to seven days earlier. But the whole plan is yet to be finalised. We will do the way the coach [Russell Domingo] wants us to do,” he added. 

The board is also planning to send reserve players along with the main squad. "If the selection panel or team management wants to take one or two additional players, there's no problem in doing so. We have been doing this always, will do in future as well."

Bangladesh, part of the Qualifying round, will play their first match against Scotland at Al Amerat Stadium in Oman on October 17, which will also be the opening day of the tournament.

Discover more
Top Stories
news

AUS W vs IND W | Gargi Banerjee appointed Indian Women's team manager for tour Down Under

Former Indian women’s all-rounder Gargi Banerjee has been appointed as the Indian women’s team manager for the team's upcoming tour Down Under. The 60-year-old will replace Rajkuvaradevi Gaikwad who was appointed as the manager for the tour of England in June-July. Gaikwad had earlier succeeded long-time manager Trupti Bhattacharya for the tour but couldn’t quite retain her place for the Australia tour. Banerjee was one of the pioneers of Bengal women’s cricket back in the 80s. She played lone Women's Tests and 26 ODIs for India in a career spanning thirteen years from 1978 to 1991. She had earlier also served as a national selector for the women’s national team. This isn't the only change in the team management for the upcoming tour of Australia. As per reports in the ESPN Cricinfo, fielding coach Abhay Sharma has also been replaced. He received praises from different quarters including T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Abhay Sharma has been appointed as the fielding coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) while his position in the Indian team has been taken up by Subhadeep Ghosh. Ghosh, who had played for Assam and the Railways has already joined the pre-tour camp in Bengaluru. A group of 30 players excluding support staff entered the pre-camp on August 10. Meanwhile, the likes of Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodriguez, who recently plied their trade in the inaugural edition of the Hundred Women will assemble with the group of players on August 22. Meanwhile, batting coach Shiv Shunder Das, who was roped in as a part of the support staff for the tour of England managed to retain the position for the tour Down Under as well. India Women will play three ODIs and an equal number of T20S along with a Day/Night Test, their first-ever in the history of cricket on the Australia tour.

news

Jasprit Bumrah should needle the opposition: Zaheer Khan

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his calibre and said that the right-arm quick bowler should “at times needle the opposition” if that brings the best out of him. "If by getting angry, he can carry himself and perform like this, I believe he should at times needle the opposition. See, in the first innings, he had gone wicketless and being the class bowler that he is, I’m sure it must have bothered him," Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz. The Indian and England players were involved in an altercation on the field during the second Test at Lord’s that visitors eventually won. India were in a spot of bother in the second innings of the Lord's Test at one stage after getting reduced to 209/8. However, Bumrah and Mohammed Shami frustrated the England bowlers with an unbeaten stand of 89 runs for the ninth wicket. The Indian bowling attack then unleashed a riveting performance with the ball and thoroughly dominated the home side. Chasing 272, England were bundled out for 120 in the second innings and suffered a defeat by 151 runs. Talking about the way Bumrah bowled in the second innings, Zaheer said that the pacer channelised his anger in the right manner. "After the whole Anderson episode that unfolded, the bouncers he bowled to him and then while batting, the manner in which the England pacer went after him all those things motivated him, and he channelised that anger in the right way,” he added. The two sides will now meet each other for the third Test in Leeds scheduled to begin on August 25.

news

Important to manage Hardik Pandya's bowling workload: Paras Mhambrey

Paras Mhambrey, who was India's bowling coach during the Sri Lanka tour has said that the management is looking to manage all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s bowling workload considering that the World T20 is coming up and the right-hander is going to play a key role for the side. "With Hardik, we are obviously slowly taking it forward. I am not going to push him in terms of the number of overs to be bowled. He is pretty much being monitored on how much we are going to push him. We have to slowly build up. The World Cup is coming. For us, knowing that he is going to play a very crucial role for us, it is important to manage his bowling workload very well," said Mhambrey. Talking about Hardik’s role, Mhambrey admitted that the all-rounder does have a lot to offer with the bat, but if he is fit to bowl, then it would give a different dimension. "We know the batting that he offers you. But if we add bowling to it, he brings a different dimension. In that sense, we are working on it. Everyone -- strength & conditioning department and the physios -- is in sync and we have chatted it out," Mhambrey told IANS. Pandya had been troubled with a back injury for quite some time. However, post-recovery, he did bowl a bit in the series against Sri Lanka but failed to complete his quota of overs in any of the fixtures. The right-handed cricketer is expected to bowl in IPL that will resume on September 19 in the UAE where Mumbai Indians will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings. The tournament was suspended after there was a Covid-19 outbreak within the franchises in May this year. The IPL will be followed by the World T20 that will be hosted by the UAE and Oman. The first match of the competition will be played on October 17 where co-host Oman will be up against PNG. India will begin the campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.