Musfiq is the best one

Bangladesh cricket, which has been undergoing lots of unhygienic staff lately was finally back in hygiene as the cricketers started a fitness camp on Yesterday. The Sher-E –Bangla stadium was full of energy after a long break. The camp had undergone the direction of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) physical performance manager Stuart Karppinen . The preliminary squad for New Zealand tour was put into fitness test with the newly bought training device-the Speed Light Gate (SLG). The device was bought for 20000 Australian dollars (approximately taka 16 lakh) .

Stuart Karppinen implied that, the newly bought device will help to figure out player’s baseline on different fitness measures. The device was primarily used for fielding tests and to measure fatigue and power and other fitness related attributes. “What we are trying to do is profile them based on different fitness levels.”  The manager said. The tests involved verities of sessions, for instance running between the light-gates, which measures the acceleration and speed of players. Secondly, there were vertical jumps and finally repeating the exercise on an electrical mat. Karppinen said, although the device had undergone lots of experiment since 2004-2005 , this is kind of new in cricket. He also informed that, this is the modern version of the ’Blip Test’.

There was no Sakib, Tamim. Razzaq, Shahadat and Junaid Siddique for the first day test. There were 10 types of different tests on the first day. Mushfiqur Rahim was the only one who passed each test successfully. Therefore in today’s test, Mushfiq will be the one who will participate for in every test of the second level, while others will participate in either one.

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BD stunned by Ashraful match fixing scandal

Bangladesh cricket fans, players and newspapers reacted with shock and dismay yesterday to the tearful confession by former national captain Mohamed Ashraful that he had been involved in match-fixing.

Ashraful, who became the country’s youngest Test centurion in 2001 at the age of 17, on Tuesday apologised for his wrongdoing and said he had detailed his role in fixing to anti-corruption officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The news made the front pages of all Bangladesh’s national newspapers with The Daily Star’s front page showing a photograph of weeping Ashraful next to a headline that read “People’s prince turns pauper”. 

Another English daily, New Age, ran a story under the headline “The rise and fall of a superstar”.

Faruque Ahmed, the national chief selector when Ashraful was made captain in 2007, said he was the finest cricketer the country had ever produced.

“He was the first mega-star for Bangladesh cricket and this is very shocking and sad news, especially when he confessed his involvement in corruption,” Ahmed told AFP.

A former coach of the right-handed big-hitter said he could not understand why Ashraful became involved with fixing.

“I am shocked, hurt with his public confession. I knew him for many years. I did not see any bad element in him when I coached him” when he was a child, Waheedul Gani told AFP.

Legions of the cricketers followers also spoke of their disappointment.

“I was a wild fan of Ashraful,” Faozul Kabir, a Dhaka University student told AFP. 

“Now, no matter how important his contribution was, he should get exemplary punishment so that none could dare follow his path in the future to keep the game clean.”

The 28-year-old apologised shortly after he was suspended by the BCB pending a full investigation by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

ACSU has been probing allegations of match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 competition, and is expected to report its findings to Bangladesh authorities within a week.

The alleged fixing involves a match between the Dhaka Gladiators and the Chittagong Kings during the second edition of the BPL.

Local media have reported that Ashraful was allegedly paid about one million taka ($12,800) to lose the match on February 2.

Dhaka Gladiators upset at being left out of CLT20

Dhaka Gladiators, the Bangladesh Premier League champions, have reacted strongly after the schedule of this year's Champions League T20 was announced without the two-time BPL winners. Of all the Test-playing countries, domestic Twenty20 champions from only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have never participated in the CLT20.

They had also alleged that the BCB did not send out any requests to one of the three cricket boards that organise the tournament, but the BCB has denied this claim.

"We expected (to be included) and were waiting for a meeting with one the organisers - the BCCI - of the tournament," Shihab Chowdhury, Dhaka Gladiator's managing director, said in a statement. "We also said that things are on track but the fixtures were released before we could even make a move. We were informed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board was supposed to recommend and request the BCCI. But surprisingly this was also never done."

"We were informed that Bangladesh Cricket Board was supposed to recommend and request the BCCI. But surprisingly this was never done."

In reply, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick has said they never got a reply from the organisers, but they will try to include the BPL champions. "They [Dhaka Gladiators] are misinformed about our stance. We have sent letters to the Champions League T20 committee but didn't get any replies from the concerned people. We will send letters to the BCCI, CA and CSA in this regard next week.

"They went to meet the ICC but I don't think the ICC has anything to do with this," Mallick told ESPNcricinfo.

"We were even told by the concerned that process is going and there was a very good chance for us to participate in the tournament this year, but no communication was made by the concerned thus we were not considered," he said.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent