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We didn’t get justice from ICC: Bangladesh sports advisor

Published

8 months ago

2026/01/22

Priyan

Asif Nazrul stated that the Bangladesh govt is not willing to change its stance [Cricbuzz]

Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government’s sports advisor, on Thursday said that the ICC and the BCCI made no effort to convince the the Bangladesh Cricket Board of the security for their players in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India and Sri Lanka. He also added that they did not deliver justice to their plea of shifting matches to Sri Lanka.

On Wednesday, the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s plea to relocate their venues from India to Sri Lanka, and instead gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board 24 hours to take a decision on their participation. The ICC have also kept Scotland as standby if Bangladesh eventually don’t agree to travel to India to take part in the tournament.

Nazrul, who had a meeting with national cricketers on Thursday, told reporters that they are not ready to change their stance. “The purpose of the meeting was simply to explain to the players why the government took this decision and give them the context. I believe they understood. That was the purpose – nothing else.

“I think we did not get justice from ICC. Whether we will play in the World Cup or not is entirely a government decision. Nothing happened in India in the recent past that suggests things have changed there (security- wise). We hope ICC will give us justice.”

He went on to add: “All of us want to play the T20 World Cup because our players have earned this through hard work. But the security risk situation in India has not changed. The security concerns did not arise from speculation or theoretical analysis. They arose from a real incident – where one of our country’s top players was forced to bow to extremists, and the Indian cricket board asked him to leave India. Simply put, he was told to leave.

“Now this ICC tournament is being held in India. No matter how much the ICC says there is no security risk, the ICC does not have its own country. The country where my player was not safe – and where the Indian cricket board, which is an extended arm of the government, failed or was unwilling to provide him security under pressure from extremists – that is the country hosting this tournament.

“Security will be the responsibility of that country’s police and security agencies. So what has changed since that incident that would make us believe that there will be no extremist flare-ups again? They could not protect Mustafizur – so what has changed? How can we be convinced that they can protect our players, journalists and supporters?

“The ICC has made no effort to convince us. They ignored the real incident and only talked about their standard security procedures. They did not take a proper position on the actual grievance.

“Even the Indian government made no effort to convince us by saying the incident involving Mustafizur was isolated, or that they were sorry, or that they were taking steps. They made no effort to contact us, no effort to reassure us about the safety of our journalists, spectators and players. Therefore, there is no scope for changing our decision.

Aminul Islam, the president of BCB, added, “A world organisation cannot impose a 24-hour ultimatum. We will keep fighting.

“Bangladesh is a cricket-loving nation. If a country of nearly 200 million people misses the World Cup, ICC will lose a huge audience. Cricket is entering the Olympics in 2028, Brisbane in 2032, India bidding for 2036. Excluding a major cricket-loving country like Bangladesh would be a failure. We are still fighting. Our only demand is to play the World Cup – but not in India. We want to play in Sri Lanka or another neutral venue. Our team is ready.”

[Cricbuzz]

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Italian Naval Vessel ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ arrives in Colombo

Published

19 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

The Italian Naval Vessel ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ arrived in Sri Lanka today, 9 September 2026, on a replenishment visit.

The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in accordance with naval traditions at the port of Colombo.

‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ is a 180m long Landing Helicopter Aircraft Vessel commanded by Captain Marco GUERRIERO.

During the ship’s stay in Sri Lanka, the Commanding Officer of ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ is scheduled to call on the Commander Western Naval Area.

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England Women appoint Leah Poulton as managing director

Published

23 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

Leah Poulton will become Managing Director, England Women [Cricinfo]

Leah Poulton the former Australia batter turned coach and administrator, will join England Women as managing director, succeeding Clare Connor.

Poulton will be charged with overseeing the success of the international team and pathways after the ECB cited her “impressive track record driving women’s cricket forward in Australia”.

Poulton earned 90 caps for Australia before retiring in 2015 and has spent the past six years as head of elite female cricket at Cricket New South Wales. There, she oversees cricket performance operations across two WBBL franchises, women’s state cricket and one of the world’s largest women’s cricket talent pathways.

Before that, she spent three years at Cricket Australia as a High Performance Coach, where she was instrumental in setting up Australia’s enviable women’s high-performance pathway, which included developing the Australia A and Under-19s women’s teams.

In her new role, she will be accountable for the performances of England Women, England Women A, England Women Under-19s and the overall women’s high-performance system.

Poulton will start in her new role in November with England set to host the Women’s Ashes next summer. She fills the role vacated by Connor, who announced earlier this year that she would be leaving the ECB after a career spanning 18 years, and will work closely with England Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.

“I’m incredibly excited and honoured to be joining England, and to have the opportunity to help shape our programmes and, most importantly, invest in our people,” Poulton said. “I’m looking forward to working with Charlotte, Nat and the wider team, building on the strong foundations already in place and taking the programme forward.

“I know how vital strong pathways and a healthy domestic game are to sustained success, so I’m looking forward to connecting with people across the game and helping give the next generation of English players every opportunity to thrive. It’s a huge privilege to be part of England Women, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Richard Gould, the ECB’s CEO, said that with the senior women’s team had made under Edwards, appointed last year, and having reached the final of their recent home T20 World Cup, England Women were well placed for a successful era.

“I’m delighted to welcome Leah on board to help us build on this and take us to the next level,” Gould said. “She has a deep understanding of international cricket from her playing career and has built an impressive reputation in her time in administration.

“I believe she and Lottie will be a formidable combination, and will continue the team’s progress and development as we compete for the ICC Women’s Champions Trophy and Women’s Ashes in 2027.”

[Cricinfo]

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Avindu makes history with first World University gold for Sri Lanka

Published

1 day ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

University of Sri Jayewardenepura weightlifter Avindu Liyanagedara made history yesterday by becoming the first Sri Lankan university student to win a gold medal at a World University sports event, as Sri Lanka made a spectacular start to the 2026 World University Weightlifting Championship in Doha, Qatar.

‎Liyanagedara won the men’s 60kg title, while Sabaragamuwa University’s Nipun Dissanayake added a bronze medal in the 65kg category on the opening day of the championship.

‎Liyanagedara lifted 105kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk for an impressive combined total of 237kg.

‎Spain’s Gomez Martinez took the silver with 228kg, while Chun-Yen Tang of Chinese Taipei won bronze with 227kg.

‎Dissanayake also secured a podium finish in the 65kg class with a total of 220kg, comprising a 100kg snatch and a 120kg clean and jerk.

‎Iran’s Mohhadov Tehran won the gold with 289kg, with Moldova’s Ion Badanev taking silver with 288kg.

‎Liyanagedara’s achievement represents a landmark breakthrough for Sri Lankan university sport. His gold is the first gold medal won by a Sri Lankan university student at a World University sports event, while Dissanayake’s bronze further strengthened the country’s historic opening-day showing.

‎The Sri Lanka University Sports Association has entered five male and two female athletes for the championship, with University of Colombo’s Sujan Walgampaya serving as team manager and coach.

‎The championship continues in Doha until September 12, with Sri Lanka already assured of a memorable place in the history of World University sport through Liyanagedara’s historic gold medal.