Nepal's cricket squad on Tuesday headed to Pakistan for the ODI Asia Cup without its star spin bowler, who must stay home to stand trial for alleged rape, officials said.

Bangladesh fast bowler Ebadot Hossain has been ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to a knee injury. The national selection panel of BCB has named uncapped pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib as Ebadot’s replacement.

Bangladesh pacer Ebadot Hossain has been deemed doubtful for the Asia Cup due to fitness concerns, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu confirmed to The Daily Star on Monday.

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan sought prayers from fans ahead of the Asia Cup after fulfilling one of his commercial commitments in Dubai on Sunday.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have made it into the 17-member squad of India for the upcoming Asia Cup later this month.

Former team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon had been away from the national side’s periphery for a while.

Ten teams will feature in the 46-day tournament, to be held across 10 cities. Along with Ahmedabad, the other host cities include Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.

Bangladesh national team players enjoyed some moments with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 trophy as it was on display at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today on the second day of its tour to Bangladesh.

Hockey player Rezaul Karim Babu shared his and the team’s goals for the forthcoming Asian Games, and his expectations from a sport that has left its heydays long behind during an interview with The Daily Star.   

It can be quite hard to imagine hockey’s popularity in the country was only second to football in the 80’s. Although football’s craze was unmatched back then, hockey boasted a fair share of spectators who thronged stadiums to watch domestic and international matches.

The 33-year-old captain, who has worked under different foreign and local coaches and seen the ups and downs of the team, spoke elaborately regarding the difference from the previous campaigns to the recent one and what he feels should be the ideology for the team going forward. Excerpts of the interview, taken by The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman, are as follows.

India re-evaluated themselves against skilled Asian teams, having repelled Lebanon in similar fashion in the semi-finals, but what will the rest of the South Asian participating nations take away from the tournament? From here on, how do they gauge their standards relative to India’s ever-accelerating progress?

It shouldn't come as a massive surprise if the Piacenza-born tactician lands the biggest prize of all in Istanbul on Saturday night, even though Manchester City will definitely go into the game as the favourites.

City are only one step away from being the second English and the eighth European team in history to complete the prestigious continental treble. Tonight, in Istanbul, City will be up against Inter Milan -- “the best Italian team at present,” according to Zlatan Ibrahimovich -- in the Champions League final.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) and bKash Limited (bKash), the largest mobile financial services provider in Bangladesh, announced their partnership to promote further financial inclusion through sports yesterday.

That Bangladesh is a football-loving nation, with massive fanbases of two of the most entertaining and decorated national teams, namely Brazil and Argentina, was common knowledge inside Bangladesh prior to the 2022 World Cup.

After years of support for La Albiceleste from countries like Bangladesh, India, and China, the AFA has devised diverse brand expansion programmes. This partnership is the expression of that trajectory and greater scope.

Real Madrid are closing in on Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, with Spanish reports Wednesday saying a deal will soon be reached.

Balbirnie found Liton’s glasses while batting in the first innings to be quite amusing.

Previously, board president Nazmul Hassan had stated a numerous times that the board were not going to allow players to feature in franchise leagues during international assignments.