Mortaza sustains minor injury
dhaka: Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has sustained minor injuries to both his hands after being involved in a road accident in Mirpur but there is no immediate threat to his participation in the three-match home series against India, starting June 18. The accident took place when Mashrafe was travelling by a cycle rickshaw from his house to the Shere Bangla Stadium for the team’s
training session. There was a mild collision between his rickshaw and a bus. Mashrafe has now got both hands bandaged but the Bangladesh team management is hopeful that he would recover in time for the series. “This is unfortunate. We are concerned about his palm,” Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurasingha told ‘ESPNcricinfo’. “But we will give him maximum chance to recover in time for the ODI series,” he added.
Mahmudullah ruled out
dhaka: Bangladesh cricket team on Thursday dealt a telling blow after its premier batsman and World Cup hero Mahmudullah Riyad was ruled out of the upcoming home series against India due to a fracture in left hand index finger that he sustained during a training session. “Mahmudullah hurt the index finger on his left hand while attempting a catch during the training today. X-rays revealed a fracture which usually takes three to four weeks to heal,” team physiotherapist Baizidul Islam told reporters in Dhaka. Bangladesh will play the one-off Test against India at Fatullah from June 10 followed by three-match ODI series, starting June 18.
ICC receives Abbas’ nomination
dubai: The International Cricket Council on Thursday confirmed receiving the nomination of former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas for Presidency, saying that his name will now be referred to the world body’s Nominations Committee for consideration. “The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) yesterday nominated former Test captain Zaheer Abbas for the ICC Presidency,” the ICC said in a statement. “The nomination will now go forward for consideration by the ICC Nominations Committee and then to the ICC Board for approval before it is ratified by the Full Council at the 2015 Annual Conference, which will take place from 21-26 June in Barbados.”
Murali wants Harbhajan, Ashwin
kolkata: Hailing the return of Harbhajan Singh to team India after a two-year hiatus, cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan has said the way forward for the Indian side in the one-off Test against Bangladesh is to play two off spinners. The biggest surprise in the Bangladesh-bound squad for the only Test from June 10-14 at Fatullah was the inclusion of the most successful Indian off-spinner, who had last played a Test in 2013. Murali feels there’s no harm in picking Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan in the same XI. “Ashwin has been keeping up with his consistency, and now you have Harbhajan back as well. I think he (Harbhajan) will have a good opportunity to play in Bangladesh because you can very well field two off-spinners in the playing XI.
BCCI hopeful to resolve WICB impasse
kolkata: BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya on Thursday said that they would meet the West Indies officials soon to resolve the dispute that arose after the Caribbean team’s abrupt pullout from a full tour in October last year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly slapped a USD 41.97 million damages claim on the WICB after the players pulled out after fourth ODI in Dharamsala on October 17. They were slated to play one more ODI, a Twenty20I and three Tests but citing the failure of West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and WICB to respond convincingly to their questions related to the memorandum of understanding and collective bargaining agreement signed by the two parties in September, they abandoned the tour.
AB de Villiers bags five CSA awards
johannesburg: South African skipper AB de Villiers has capped off a stunning year by winning five awards, including Player of the Year for the second time in a row, at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) annual awards. De Villiers was also named One Day-International Cricketer of the Year while his peers and his fans on Wednesday honoured him by voting for him as SA (South Africa) Players’ Player of the Year and SA Fans’ Player of the Year, respectively. Having won the South African Cricketer of the Year for a second consecutive year, De Villiers has matched the performance of former paceman Makhaya Ntini, who had received the award in 2005 and 2006.