Dragonfly

Image by Rezwan

Overcrowded passenger ferry capsized in the Padma River in Munshiganj, Bangladesh

The Formalin Scare in Bangladesh

The World Cup Goal-E Project

This street in Bangladesh has a colorful world cup celebration

New Chum Hill Ruins

Remnants of Kiandra gold mine at New Chum Hill, #nsw #australia

Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts

February 20, 2015

Afghanistan Makes History in Cricket World Cup, Despite Debut Loss to Bangladesh

Friday, February 20, 2015  , , , ,  No comments
Image from the Bangladesh Afghanistan Match from Manuka, Oval. Image By Rezwan
Image from the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match from Manuka, Oval. Image By Rezwan
February 18 was a historic day for Afghanistan, as its national cricket team took on Bangladesh at Manuka Oval Stadium in Canberra, Australia, for the country's first ever game in a Cricket World Cup.

Even though Bangladesh showed off its experience and talent, beating Afghanistan by 105 runs in a quite one-sided game, it was clear the country had come a long way. Afghanistan learned the game from neighbouring Pakistan, where countless Afghans fled following the 1979 Soviet invasion of their homeland, and cricket is now the most popular game there.

Bangladesh is also comparatively new to the World Cup. It played its first World Cup game in 1999.

Ahead of the game Afghanistan was pumped up from its victory over Bangladesh at the last Asia Cup in 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. However, the conditions in Australia were much different. The pitch at Manuka Oval offered more by way of pace and bounce than that Asia Cup surface.

Huge Crowd queueing up for the Bangladesh Afghanistan match on Feb 18, 2015. Image by Rezwan
Huge crowd queueing up for the Bangladesh-Afghanistan match on Feb. 18, 2015. Image by Rezwan
Despite the loss, Afghanistan thrilled its supporters as its bowlers kept up the pressure on Bangladeshi batsmen in the first 25 overs with a low run rate and took four wickets. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for a 114-run 5th wicket partnership and Bangladesh posted a total of 267. Afghanistan was not up to par in reply as it was reduced to three wickets with only three runs in the first three overs. The team never quite recovered and was all out for 162 runs in 42.5 overs.

Canberra is home to a small population of Bangladeshis maybe 7,000 to 8,000 strong. However, many Bangladeshis from Sydney and Melbourne came to the Australian capital to watch the game. The official match crowd was 10,972, out of which Bangladeshis were more than 9,000, transforming the stadium into a little Bangladesh.

Here are some pictures from the crowd:

Bangladeshi supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Bangladeshi supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghan Supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghan Supporters. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Bangladeshi supporters wore the green and red team jerseys which bore the colors of the Bangladeshi flag. Image by Rezwan
Bangladeshi supporters wore the green-and-red team jerseys, the same colors as the Bangladeshi flag. Image by Rezwan
Afghani supporters were also colourful. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Afghani supporters were also colourful. Image by Rezwan (18/2/2015)
Twitter hashtags #cwc15 and #BanvsAfg were trending on that day as many were talking about the game.
A tweet by the US Embassy in Kabul declaring victory for Afghanistan before the end of the game generated a lot of buzz. It was retweeted more than 300 times and favourited more than 100 times:
The embassy acknowledged their "premature posting" in another tweet, but maintained their excitement about Afghanistan's participation at the World Cup.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.
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November 28, 2014

Mourning Cricket Fans Honor Australia's Phillip Hughes With #PutOutYourBats

Friday, November 28, 2014  , ,  No comments
Players and officials of Bangladesh-Zimbabwe and the spectators stand up to pay one minute silent for Australian batsman Phillip Huges before the 4th ODI at Sher-e-Bangla Natioanl Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Dhaka. Image by Reaz Sumon. Copyright Demotix. (28/11/2014)
Players and officials of Bangladesh-Zimbabwe and the spectators stand up for one minute silence for Australian batsman Phillip Huges before the fourth One Day International match at Sher-e-Bangla Natioanl Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Dhaka. Image by Reaz Sumon. Copyright Demotix. (28/11/2014)
A simple tribute from a cricket fan to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died November 27, has gone viral in Australian and around the world.

Australian star cricketer Phillip Hughes died as a result of injuries he sustained when he was struck by a bouncer on Tuesday during a domestic league game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Hughes was wearing a helmet, but the ball made contact with an unprotected area, damaging his vertebral artery which caused bleeding in the brain. He died two days later at a Sydney hospital from his injuries, three days shy of his 26th birthday.

In a gesture of respect, IT worker Paul Taylor put his old cricket bat outside the front door of his home in Sydney with a cricket cap slung on the handle and tweeted the picture to his followers with the hashtag #putoutyourbats. The idea soon caught on among mourning fans in Australia and beyond.
Hughes was born in Macksville, a small town on the north coast of New South Wales, and was so talented that he had his grade A debut at the age of 12. To mark his passing, matches were cancelled in Australia and in other countries. Cricketers across the world have tweeted to commemorate him:
Check out ESPN for more tributes to the cricket star.

The post was also published in Global Voices Online.
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March 08, 2011

Fans say sorry to Shakib's Mother

Tuesday, March 08, 2011  ,  4 comments



In Bangladesh Facebook users are growing rapidly (1,452,760 users according to Facebook stats). And with this huge user base it is natural that social activism are being organized in Bangladesh through Facebook. I have seen many such efforts in the past - like collecting winter cloths, collecting signatures for petition etc.

After the Mirpur debacle of Bangladesh cricket the Lets Say Sorry To Our Guests Facebook group has accomplished a commendable task in sending apologies and flowers to the West Indies cricket team.

The same Facebook group has accomplished another notable task. They have gone to Magura, the hometown of Shakib, the Bangladesh captain. Stones were thrown at his house too. They presented flowers to sakib's mom and gave some letters of few fans of cricket and a formal letter.



According to a Facebook note of Foisal Masum, member of the group (translated):

We are very emotional as a nation. So sometime our outburst of emotion becomes excess. But time has changed..this is not the middle ages...this is not the era of the Mughals..when showing muscle power and supremacy were the sign of the strength of the nation.

Our education, our achievements are announcing that time has changed, this is the time to change.

At this moment, during world cup, the media of the whole world are looking at us..now if we engage ourselves in fighting, bickering etc. for the sake of letting out emotion.. (this will be public)..

Let us keep the bad incidents within the country, try to fix them, let us refine the way we express emotion..let us stay away from yellow journalism.

Image Credit: Sunny and Lalon Jamil
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March 05, 2011

Bangladeshis say sorry to the West Indies Cricket Team.

Saturday, March 05, 2011  ,  5 comments

Friday was a dark day for Bangladesh cricket. Not only Bangladesh succumbed to West Indies feebly, one incident took away all the hospitality Bangladesh has been providing to their "guests". The West Indies team bus was stoned on their way towards the hotel.

Many Bangladeshis were outraged by this despicable act. One of my Facebook friends commented - 'wrong bus, you morons'. Immediately I saw petiotions, Facebook pages coming up. A notable event was announced which was titled Lets say sorry to our guests.


(Image courtesy Facebook user)

Today these internet activists gathered in front of Hotel Sheraton, where the West Indies cricket team is residing. Prothom Alo has the detailed report. However, it will not make everyone forget the gravity of the offense by a few perpetrators.

The actions have been swift from the police. As per BdNews24.com police and RAB detained 38 persons from that area and a case has been filed against them. And this is one interesting revelation:

It turned out the angry fans attacked the bus assuming it contained Bangladesh players, not the West Indies.

Surely the team buses cannot be distinguished from far - but still the attack on Bangladesh team was also cowardice. I hope people come to their senses and uphold Bangladesh's age old hospitable character. Bangladeshis want to forget that day and wish that it never repeats again.
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February 23, 2011

Bangladesh Cricket - Never Stop Believing

Wednesday, February 23, 2011  ,  No comments





ESPNCricinfo has published some amazing pictures of Dhaka. Don't miss them.


People cross the Buriganga river covered with hyacinths using a bridge made of boats Image credit ESPN Crticinfo
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February 17, 2011

Live Blogging World Cup Cricket opening ceremony in Dhaka

Thursday, February 17, 2011  ,  No comments


Via Unheard Voice:

Live Blogging World Cup Cricket opening ceremony in Dhaka






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February 16, 2011

Bangladesh Ready For The Cricket World Cup

Wednesday, February 16, 2011  ,  1 comment
Bangladesh's capital Dhaka is all set to inaugurate the Cricket World Cup2011. The one and half month of cricket action will be spread across 13 venues in three countries (Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka). The tournament will feature 14 teams and 49 matches out of which 29 will be in India, 12 in Sri Lanka and 8 in Bangladesh.

The Thursday's ICC World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony will contain 135-minute long extravaganza of song, dance and laser shows at the renovated Bangabandhu National Stadium. The likes of Brian Adam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy will keep the audience captivated.

Here are some pics of the practice for the big event taken today and shared via Facebook:



Photo courtesy: Mr. Rafat
Album courtesy : Maroof Rahman

Click here for more pictures

Dhaka has gone Red-&-Green, and the authorities are going some extra miles to make everything right. The are offering a "bite-free experience" for the spectators on the ground by killing mosquitoes in and around the venues. Even their ambitious attempts of keeping the streets free form beggers have created controversy.

This is being referred as Bangladesh's Olympics and the government has declared half day holiday on the opening day. 22 kilometers of road have been decorated with lights, posters and others stuffs. Educational institutions in the Dhaka and Chittagong will remain closed during World Cup matches help ease the traffic.

On another note players and officials have been barred from using social networking site Twitter during World Cup matches apparently to avoid match fixing and corruption.

I personally did not have luck as I could not find any ticket as people had to queue long to fight for ticket - I simply had no time for all this. I am keeping my fingures crossed as a friend from abroad has bought tickets online is coming to Dhaka to see some matches and I may get one.
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July 10, 2010

After 247 Days A Win For Bangladesh

Saturday, July 10, 2010  ,  No comments

Photo of the Day courtesy the Sun UK.

I will remember this day as Bangladesh beats England for the first time in ODI cricket.
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March 13, 2010

The Future Of Bangladesh Cricket

Saturday, March 13, 2010  ,  1 comment
Pessimists predict that this can be the future of Bangladesh cricket - when everybody will lose interest in the game and the cricket bat, ball and stumps will be put in good use - nothing will be wasted.


However, lets hope that this never happens.

(Image received in a chain mail)
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March 12, 2010

India: The IPL Extravaganza

Friday, March 12, 2010  ,  No comments
The game of cricket is now almost a religion to the Indians. The glorious era of Indian cricket started from its 1983 world cup win. Other popular games like hockey and football lost their popularity and cricket become a widely loved and followed sport in the country. In 2007 India became the world champion of the shorter version of the game - Twenty20 cricket. The result of this victory prompted Indians to take a great interest in this format of the game. India pushed Twenty20 cricket to next level by organizing a domestic tournament containing international stars called The Indian Premier League (IPL), which was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and supervised by BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner for IPL.

The tournament started in 2008 in India but in 2009 the venue of the 2nd season was shifted to South Africa for security reasons. In 2010 IPL has come back to India and the 3rd season was inaugurated today with a spectacular opening ceremony.

Indian bloggers have been abuzz about this extravaganza much before the tournament as it created a number of controversies with incidents like ignoring Pakistani cricketers in its first auction and irking the media people. Many Netizens were eagerly waiting for the tournament.

Kunal Mudgal at Just a slice of life writes:

Its time for the madness to begin!!

IPL is back in its 3rd season. Its bigger, better and now back in India. This year will be the true test of this carnival on whether it can sustain itself in this format.

When IPL started out, it was a unique concept in India. But in essence, it was trying to recreate the fanaticism found in football leagues across Europe.

Greatbong at Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind weighs on the entertainment part the tournament offers and asks:

Will all this be worth the Rs 1200 I will shell out for my ticket—-around the same price one would pay, once upton a time, to watch 5 days of Test cricket?

Shubhashish is at the stadium to watch the opening ceremony and the first match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers. He posts this picture at Twitpick.
At #ipl!!! on Twitpic

Abhinav notes the IPL craze in India:

TV, Internet, Newspapers… Every medium is flooding with DLF IPL, a private event; that above all, explains the success of Indian Premier League. For a private event, entire media is fighting to give free of cost coverage! Strange, but Interesting!

The bloggers lists the marketing and branding strategies which have worked in favour of IPL to hype this craze. To highlight a few:

  • “Packaging of the Event” from day 1 as entertainment is the biggest strategic hit. Cricket just happens to be there!
  • To keep it focussed in 20 overs and inviting International players, not only enhanced the entertainment value but also factored in the fastest growing segment of high income youth.
  • Attracting the movie stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty along with highly placed industrialist as team owners, ensured ample media and public interest which further contributed to the success of the event.

Prem Panicker at Smoke Signals sheds a light on IPL auction’s bidding process and the various pros and cons of the process.

JS tells everybody to enjoy IPL shunning all controversies:

Nothing other than the ODI and T20 World Cups, not even the Champions Trophy, has maintained the anticipation levels as high as the Modi juggernaut called the Indian Premier League (IPL). And if we may take the liberty, even the ODI World Cup has its interest dwindling since the last couple of editions, albeit ever so slightly.

But it’s not the time to ponder anything else; rather just grab a drink, dig into your couch and get immersed into the IPL. It’s that time in the cricketing calendar when all the soaps take a backseat and the desperate housewives either get remote-controlled or join the gang.

Youtube IPL channel

WATBlog reports that YouTube is promoting IPL by showing all 60 matches live via its official IPL channel and it has already bagged 200 million Indian Rupees (4.4 million USD) from sponsorships.

Yesterday at the digital media awards night I was part of a discussion with a couple of agency folks who updated me that Youtube was doing exceedingly well when it came to sponsorship monies. One of them stated that Youtube had garnered 20 crores worth of sponsorship for the entire IPL series with individual sponsorship amounts from some sponsors going upto 2 crores as well.

This makes youtube more expensive from a cost per reach perspective when you consider the number of viewers TV will reach vs the no of viewers youtube will reach in India. All in all most agency folks said that this was a big win for digital in India and a lesson for all of us in how to sell digital.

Meanwhile, IPL became a trending topic in Twitter today. Here are some of the Twitter reactions especially highlighting the opening ceremony which featured live performance from international rock stars like UB40, ABBA, Lionel Richie etc.

smokeysunny: The Official #IPL Community created by #ORKUT http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community?cmm=99087253

seopatel: #IPL #MATCH #CRICKET #MUMBAI are in the latest top 10 trends on twitter. India really uses twitter.. do you?

gynelwazlib: The DY stadium looks so beautiful. Feel uncharacteristically proud right now. One of those chairs is my indirect contribution. #ipl

pradeepto: OMG! An #UFO!!! White floating Ufo sighted at DY Patil stadium. #Aliens with funky fluorescent head-wear walking around the ground! #ipl

cricscoreapplet: #cricket #ipl Bollywood beauty, the sizzling Deepika Padukone is on stage now, sending the crowd into a tizzy with her moves

raknair07: Like always..what a crappy opening ceremony ...how much more do i have to bear this :( #fail #IPL

pranav_marathe: THE LASER SHOW IN #IPL #OPENING #CEREMONY IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. DEEPIKA'S PERFORMANCE WAS GOOD.

vedantvarma: Am thrilled with the IPL bashing so far. Sheer bliss. :-) they deserve it #ipl

The Indian blogosphere will continue to be flourished with IPL related stories. There will be regular predictions, analysis and gossip among other things. Amidst all the money, controversy, media hype and entertainment, here is hoping that cricket does not become second fiddle in IPL.

First published in Global Voices Online.
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March 05, 2010

England vs. Bangladesh 3rd ODI in Chittagong

Friday, March 05, 2010  ,  1 comment
Click here for live cricket. (Embedding disabled because of annoying popups)
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January 17, 2010

Thoughts On Ordinary Sides

Sunday, January 17, 2010  , ,  No comments
"Bangladesh are an ordinary side. They can't beat India because they can't take 20 wickets."

This was the remark of Indian cricket captain Virender Sehwag on the eve of the first Test in Chittagong.

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons reacted on Sehwag's comment:
"He should stay away from mikes. Every team has good and bad phases. His comments might bite him on his bum in a few years time. It might even hit him in the bum in a week's time. We are definitely not an ordinary side. That's what we are hoping to show in this Test series. We could hopefully prove Sehwag wrong."

It did not take even a day. The Cricinfo headline read: "Bangladesh all over ordinary India." Shakib and Shahadat left India reeling at 213/8 at the end of the days play. Sehwag was obviously absent in the post match press conference.

Recommended read: A bite out of the bum.
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January 04, 2010

Live Cricket Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka

Monday, January 04, 2010  ,  No comments
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November 10, 2009

Aminul Islam Bulbul's Cricket Journey To China

Tuesday, November 10, 2009  ,  No comments
Those who are familiar with Bangladesh cricket must know Aminul Islam Bulbul. He is one of the successful spinners of Bangladesh and has played for Bangladesh for 15 years since his debut in 1988 in the Asian Youth Cup cricket tournament.

Ever wondered what he is doing now? He is working as the ACC Development Officer for China, Brunei and Myanmar. And from this video you will notice that he speaks decent Chinese to do his job to spread the game in China:


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November 05, 2009

A Thrilling Match

Thursday, November 05, 2009  ,  No comments
"They are going to be talking about those three consecutive sixes for a long time in Chittagong."  - Cricinfo
The match situation was like this:

End of over 47 (3 runs) Bangladesh 198/9 (24 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 4.21, RRR: 8.00)

Then something happened:
47.2 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, Naeem dances down the track and launches that on over long-on for a six to bring up his half-century, that was a length ball

47.3 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, wow, what a shot that is, another length ball, Naeem gets under it and whacks it over the bowler's head for another six

47.4 Chibhabha to Naeem Islam, SIX, A hat-trick of sixes, Naeem Islam is going berserk here, Chibhabha not learning his lessons, offers a length ball again, Naeem smashes it over wide long-on for another six
 And Bangladesh went on to win the match clinching the series against Zimbabwe 4-1. All hail Naeem Islam. A hero was born today.
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October 08, 2009

Quote Of The Day

Thursday, October 08, 2009  ,  No comments
“One day we will be right up there at the top and it is a realistic prospect. Just look at the players we have. Tamim Iqbal, Ashraful, Mortaza can be match-winners and now we have Rubel [Hossain] who can bowl at 90mph. Give us a few years to grow together. Teams who face us in the coming months will be taking on a victorious unit and not the Bangladesh of old. There is a difference you will notice.”
- Shakib Al-Hasan, Vice Captain, Bangladesh cricket team and The Wisden Cricketer's Test Player Of The Year.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
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July 31, 2009

Quote Of The Day

Friday, July 31, 2009  ,  No comments
"Everyone seems to ignore the fact that they have played good cricket. They aren't as weak as some people seem to think they are."

- John Dyson, the West Indies Coach, on Bangladesh cricket team
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July 29, 2009

The feat of the "Lowly"

Wednesday, July 29, 2009  ,  No comments
Congratulations to the Bangladesh cricket team for recording their first one-day series win over a test-playing nation by winning 2-0 against West Indies (WI) with one match to go and previously clinching the Test series (2-0). The boys really played well to prove that they are becoming a force to consider.

Surely Shakib's captaincy and performance are proving beneficial for Bangladesh. Bangladesh can now turn back and win. According to the current ICC rank Shakib is the no. 1 allrounder in ODI and the no. 4 allrounder in Test Championship.

But this tour was controversial before any ball was bowled. The West Indies Players Association withdrew their players from the series to pressurize the West Indies Cricket Board to settle their outstanding contract issues. The board took on these players by naming another squad with less experienced players including players from the A team.

I have seen that many are seeing this in the angle that Bangladesh is winning because WI has fielded their B team. I should remind them that Bangladesh also was in this position last year when 13 players signed for Indian Premier League and was handed a 10 year ban by the board. Included in the lists are veterans Mohammad Rafique and Habibul Bashar and indispensable players like Aftab Ahmed, Alok Kapali, Shahriar Nafees, Farhad Reza and Dhiman Ghosh. Considering the recent Bangladesh team at least 4-5 from them can be easily be included to form the best Bangladesh team. So Bangladesh is also playing in this series with reduced strength and with some less experienced players.

The West Indies media is trying to downplay the recent feats of Bangladesh. The headline of The Jamaican Observer reads "The RECORD low! Windies cede ODI series to lowly Bangladesh".

So to them Bangladesh is still the "lowly". And they undermine the feats of Bangladesh of chasing 274 runs in a fast pitch with fearsome WI bowlers. If Bangladesh could produce a convincing performance with some less experienced players why the WI could not do it?

If they try to say that these WI players are not quality players then we can argue that a legendary team like West Indies should have enough quality players waiting to be included in the national side. If they can't field enough performing players like Bangladesh did when they lost their star players to IPL, who should be termed "lowly"?

(Image courtesy BDNews24.com)
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January 22, 2009

New King On The Block

Thursday, January 22, 2009  ,  No comments
From Cricinfo:
Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed his consistently impressive performances by heading the ICC's ODI allrounder rankings, the first time any Bangladesh has topped any ICC rankings. His performances in the home tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, took him to 380 rating points, helping him surge past last week's top two, New Zealand's Jacob Oram (368 points) and England's Andrew Flintoff (366).
More on Shakib Al Hasan here.

Update:
An exclusive interview with Shakib Al Hasan. He is just another kid on the block but with strong commitment and full of dreams. I wish more Bangladeshi players had commitments like Shakib. You must want something before you can have it truly.
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October 09, 2008

Proof of Ability

Thursday, October 09, 2008  ,  No comments
Congratulations to Bangladesh team for pulling out a victory against New Zealand in the first ODI in Dhaka.

People thought that Bangladesh had weakened by the recent exodus of a few key players to the commercially lucrative ICL. But this victory is the proof of their ability and proof that the team is not dependent on a few players. Its good to see that Bangladesh can still produce more talents.

Lets hope they develop themselves to be more consistent in their performance.
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