Bangladesh | Pakistan

Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed five wickets to give Bangladesh a slender lead after Pakistan debutant Azan Awais hit 103 on a rain-hit third day of the first Test on Sunday. Pakistan made 386 all out in response to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 413 in Dhaka. Bangladesh closed the day on 7-0 in their second innings to increase their lead to 34 runs, after bad light ended play with Mahmudul Hasan Joy unbeaten on two and Shadman Islam yet to score. left-handed Azan, who resumed on 85, completed his hundred off 153 balls to become the 14th Pakistani and sixth player overall to score a century on debut against Bangladesh. He became pace bowler Taskin Ahmed’s 50th Test wicket after captain Najmul Hossain Shanto caught the opener at slip. “It’s a very blessed feeling for me because I know it’s my debut match and I performed really well for my country,” a visibly moved Azan said. “When I was going in to bat, I was a little nervous, but I performed very well for my team.” Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals b...

Pakistan and Bangladesh have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation against drug trafficking and narcotics abuse, the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday. The development came during Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s visit to Dhaka, where he met his Bangladeshi counterpart Salahuddin Ahmed, according to the ministry. It said that Naqvi and Ahmed signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments, adding that both also agreed to set up a secretary-level joint working group between their ministries. Under the MoU, both countries will fully cooperate to prevent the illegal transportation and smuggling of narcotics, while joint efforts will be made to “curb the growing trend of drug abuse and eliminate its negative impacts”, the ministry said. It was also agreed that a joint strategy will be formulated to dismantle narcotics sale and supply networks. The relevant agencies of both countries will exchange timely intelligence and information regarding drug traffickers a...

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has expressed confidence in the bowling attack as the national side prepares to face Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series in Mirpur on Friday. The Green Shirts are visiting Bangladesh for a Test series after being whitewashed on home soil by the Bengal Tigers in August 2024. The visitors had won the two-match series by 10 wickets and six wickets respectively in Rawalpindi. Addressing the pre-series press conference on Thursday, Masood said, “We are fully focused on this series and the challenge of playing Bangladesh in their own conditions.” He also put the weight on the home side’s “quality in all departments”. Masood said that the team is looking forward to “testing” itself against its hosts. “We have selected a well-balanced squad that can perform in different conditions. The players have experience of playing in seam-friendly as well as spin-friendly environments, so we are confident about the options available to us,” he said. “In Test cricket, taking 20 ...

Bangladesh recorded 227 child deaths since March in one of its worst outbreaks of measles in decades, with the number of suspected cases reaching nearly 35,000, government data showed on Wednesday. One of the hardest hit areas is Kurukpata in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, home to Indigenous communities, which border war-torn Myanmar. Children in these rural areas are often left out of vaccination coverage, and some families avoid vaccination programmes due to fear. “The most affected area of Chittagong Hill tracts is Kurukpata, one of the remotest parts of Bangladesh,” district health chief Sheikh Fazle Rabbi told AFP, saying more than 80 children had been treated for measles. Local Kurukpata council head Kratpung Mro said the cases were unusually high. “Communication from Kurukpata is difficult,” he said. “People, mostly farmers, are among the poorest and cannot afford even boat or motorcycle fares to reach the hospital.” Kratpung Mro said the government should “launch awareness programmes and bring Indigenous...

India named veteran politician Dinesh Trivedi as its next high commissioner to Bangladesh on Monday, in a rare appointment of a non-foreign service officer as New Delhi seeks to reset ties with its eastern neighbour. Ties between the countries soured after a popular uprising forced Bangladesh’s long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to New Delhi in 2024, where she remains. Trivedi’s appointment highlights India’s push to rebuild trust with Bangladesh as it faces stiff competition from China for influence and business. Trivedi, 75, a former railways and health minister, joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2021 from a regional party in West Bengal, a border state that plays a key role in India’s ties with Bangladesh and where Modi has been seeking to expand his party’s influence in ongoing local elections. “He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement about Trivedi. Relations between the two countries beg...

Bangladesh recorded 194 child deaths due to measles in an outbreak that began last month, while the number of suspected child cases exceeded 28,000, the government data showed on Thursday. Between three and five children died from the disease every day for the past week. Five children died on Wednesday, including three in the capital Dhaka, and another five on Thursday. The government said it launched a robust nationwide vaccination programme since the outbreak began on March 15, the worst in the South Asian nation for decades. “Our target is to vaccinate 18 million children,” health department spokesman Zahid Raihan told AFP. “So far, we have covered a little over one-fourth of our target, and it may take another two weeks to see the impact of this vaccination programme.” Md Sajib and Afsin Meem lost their three-year-old son, their only child, on Tuesday, and a photograph of a relative carrying his tiny body along a road was shared extensively on news sites. “After noticing a rash on our son’s skin, we rushe...

Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been appointed as head coach for the two-match Test series in Bangladesh next month, the Pakistan Sports Board (PCB) said on Saturday. The first of the two matches – part of the ICC World Test Championship — will be played at Sher-i-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from May 8 to 12, while Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will host the second Test, which will be played from May 16 to 20. Sarfaraz, who led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in 2017, has worked with the under-19 team as well as Pakistan Shaheens after his retirement. Since Australian Jason Gillespie quit as Pakistan’s red-ball coach in December 2024, Aaqib Javed and Azhar Mahmood temporarily guided the team led by Shan Masood, who will continue as captain in Bangladesh. Pakistan have named four uncapped players — Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori — to their 16-member squad for the Bangladesh series starting in Dhaka on May 8. Sarfaraz’s former teammate Umar Gul will j...

DHAKA: A self-proclaimed spiritual leader was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh on Saturday, officials said, in the latest violence fuelled by religious tensions in the country. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has seen a sharp rise in religious intolerance and mob violence since the 2024 uprising that toppled the government of former premier Sheikh Hasina. Shamim Reza Jahangir, believed to be in his 60s, died from his injuries after hundreds of people stormed his residence in Kushtia district and thrashed him with sticks, chief administrative official Touhid bin Hasan said. The mob was angered after an old video of the man resurfaced online on Fri­day. He had uttered remarks against the Holy Quran. “Sensing that something might happen, police went to the spot, and the administration tried their best. But an angry mob of more than 200 people attacked his residence,” bin Hasan said. Jahangir was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police sources said that Jahangir had been briefly arres...

Bangladesh’s foreign minister met his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Wednesday, the most senior visit by a Dhaka envoy since the 2024 revolution toppled India’s old ally, Sheikh Hasina. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is taking part in a “goodwill visit”, Bangladesh’s state news agency BSS said, but added that issues of “extradition, trade, water sharing and border security” would be discussed. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Dhaka in December to attend the funeral of former leader Khaleda Zia, the mother of the prime minister elected in February, Tarique Rahman. Jaishankar said he had been “pleased to host” Khalilur Rahman, saying in a statement that they had discussed “strengthening our bilateral relationship”, without giving further details. Relations have improved since Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, won a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since Hasina was ousted. ...

Bangladesh said it suspected measles killed at least 98 children in the past three weeks, official data showed on Sunday, with Dhaka ramping up vaccination efforts in the worst-affected areas. Last week, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed two senior ministers to travel across the South Asian nation of 170 million people in an effort to assess the scale of the crisis to help coordinate a response. Health ministry data released on Sunday showed that children aged between six months and five years old with suspected measles symptoms soared to 6,476. “Compared with past years, the number of affected children is higher, and the death toll is higher too,” Halimur Rashid, director at the Communicable Disease Control, told AFP, referring to the number in suspected cases. The largest number of suspected cases on record was in 2005 at 25,934, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, though that number had significantly declined until this year. Rashid attributed the potential outbreak to “multifactorial c...

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s entertainment venture JioStar has terminated its broadcast deals in Bangladesh for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, saying its local partner defaulted on payments, according to a document seen by Reuters. Bangladesh in January banned IPL broadcasts after one of its teams, Kolkata Knight Riders, dropped Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman at the Indian cricket board’s instruction, just as tensions rose between the two countries following the killing of a Hindu man in Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is reviewing the ban and had on Saturday said any further steps will depend on the opinion of its sports ministry, the termination by JioStar means there will be no local broadcaster for the IPL season, even if the country were to change its stance. “The agreement stands terminated with immediate effect,” JioStar said in a letter dated February 17 to Bangladesh broadcaster TSports, which had sublicensed the rights from JioStar for IPL seasons from 2023 to 2027. The ...

Bangladesh clinched a three-match series against Pakistan 2-1 as the Green Shirts faced a narrow defeat in the third one-day international (ODI) match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday. Chasing a total of 291 runs, Pakistan’s batters fell short by 11 runs as a fighting 106-run knock by Salman Agha went in vain. Green Shirts lost early wickets as openers Sahizada Farhaan and Maaz Sadaqat went back to the pavilion after scoring just six runs each. Debutant Saad Masood scored 38 runs, while captain Shaheen Afridi added 37 runs to the scoreboard. Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed’s heroic 4-wicket haul was impressive as he also took the key wicket of Salman Agha, who was looking unswerving to outdo the winning mark. Mustafizur Rehman also grabbed three wickets, while Nahid Rana managed to secure two. Winning the toss, the visitors decided to bowl first in the series decider. Bangladesh’s openers provided a sturdy start to the innings with Tanzid Hasan scoring his maiden ODI century, which also...

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Saturday it has officially reprimanded Salman Ali Agha for breaching Level 1 of its code of conduct during a One-Day International against Bangladesh. “Agha was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to ‘abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match’,” the ICC said in a statement. It stated that one demerit point has been added to Agha’s disciplinary record, for “whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period”. “The incident occurred in the 39th over of Pakistan’s innings when, after being run out, Agha threw his batting gloves and helmet to the ground in an inappropriate manner,” the ICC noted. It added that Agha “admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Neeyamur Rashid Rahul of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing”. On-field umpires Adr...

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 128 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the rain-affected second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday. Maaz Sadaqat was the stand-out performer of the game, blasting a rapid 75 for Pakistan before picking up three wickets. Chasing a revised target of 243 in 32 overs after a two-hour rain and hailstorm delay, Bangladesh collapsed for 114 in 23.3 overs despite a brief counterattack from Litton Das. Bangladesh had already been in trouble before the weather halted play. Tanzid Hasan fell early for one, caught at backward square leg off Shaheen Shah Afridi, while Saif Hassan departed for 12 after offering a catch to short mid-off off Mohammad Wasim Jr. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was bowled by Shaheen for a duck, leaving the hosts reeling at 27 for 3 in 6.3 overs when a sudden thunderstorm accompanied by hail forced the players off the field. When play resumed, Litton attempted to revive the chase with a series of boundaries, including two six...

Bangladesh pace sensation Nahid Rana claimed his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals to lead his team to a crushing eight-wicket win over Pakistan in their opening match on Wednesday. Rana returned figures of 5-24 to skittle out Pakistan for 114, a total Bangladesh overhauled in 15.1 overs of the 50-over contest in Mirpur to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Opener Tanzid Hasan hammered an unbeaten 67 off 42 balls and put on a second-wicket partnership of 82 with Najmul Hossain Shanto, who made 27, in a statement win. Saif Hassan fell early for four, while Litton Das remained unbeaten on three with Tanzid. Earlier, Nahid laid the platform for victory with his outstanding spell in his seven overs to bowl out Pakistan for their lowest ODI total against Bangladesh, eclipsing the previous 161 during the 1999 World Cup. The 23-year-old Nahid ripped through Pakistan’s top order, becoming the first Bangladeshi bowler to dismiss the opposition’s top five batters in an ODI innings. Nahid removed ...

Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam was dropped from the squad for a One-Day International series against Bangladesh, despite scoring a century in his last ODI series. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 15-man squad on Wednesday that excluded Babar who made an unbeaten 102 against Sri Lanka in November. He endured a torrid time at the Twenty20 World Cup, however, managing just 91 runs across four innings as Pakistan exited at the Super Eight stage. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain the side for the three-match series starting next week in Dhaka. The PCB called up six uncapped players including Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Saad Masood and Shamyl Hussain who played against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi before the series was called off due to the conflict in the Middle East. Pakistan squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Junior, Muhammad Ghazi ...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday that the Green Shirts would tour Bangladesh in March for a three-match One Day International (ODI) series. In a press release, the PCB said, “Pakistan men’s cricket team will tour Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series, the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed on Friday.” It said that the team would arrive in Bangladesh on March 9 and hold a training session the next day, ahead of the opening ODI against the hosts on March 11. The board added that the second ODI would be played on March 13, while the third and final match was scheduled for March 15. It added that all three matches would be played at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. “This will be Pakistan’s second tour of Bangladesh since July 2025. Pakistan last toured Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series in July, which the hosts won 2-1. Meanwhile, Bangladesh toured Pakistan for a three-match T20I series in May/June last year, which the Salman Ali Agha-led side won 3-0,” the PCB said. The ...

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has named a former commerce minister to steer the country’s troubled economy and kept the defence portfolio for himself as he formed his first cabinet. Rahman was sworn into office on Tuesday after a landslide election victory, taking over from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since a deadly 2024 uprising that toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina. The 50-member cabinet announced in a gazette notification issued late Tuesday includes Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, 76, a businessman and veteran lawmaker who has now returned to the finance ministry. Chowdhury is tasked with reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence in the world’s second-largest garment exporter. He had previously served in the cabinet of Rahman’s late mother, three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, but was forced to resign in 2004. According to media reports, his resignation came after he had granted permission for Taiwa...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday conveyed heartfelt congratulations to Tarique Rahman following his swearing-in as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s prime minister on Tuesday, marking a decisive political shift in the South Asian nation after his party’s sweeping parliamentary election victory. Rahman, 60, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and assassinated President Ziaur Rahman, takes office facing urgent challenges, including restoring political stability, rebuilding investor confidence, and reviving key industries such as the garment sector after the prolonged turmoil that followed the Gen Z-led uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024. An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus ran the country through the transitional period leading up to the election. Breaking with tradition, the swearing-in ceremony was held under the open sky at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, the national parliament building, instead of the Bangabhaban, the president’s official residence, where such events are usually organised. President M...