The end of a brief 10-minute opening ceremony was marked by the use of coloured gas canisters, balloons and smoke bombs.    

Bowling coach Andre Adams has also tested positive for COVID, NZC added.

The home side cement their position at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.

There was not much hype in the cricketing fraternity as it was business as usual for cricketers and organisers yesterday on the eve of the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

The 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will commence at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on January 19, with defending champions Comilla Victorians taking on Durdanto Dhaka. Ahead of the latest season, The Daily Star’s Sports Podcast Pitch Perfect points out factors associated with the franchise tournament which are far from ideal.

The home skipper's 4-15 included two scalps on his final two deliveries and Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory inside 11 overs.

Bangladesh, however, will start their campaign on January 20 against India in Bloemfontein.

Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal said that he would talk to Bangladesh’s all-format captain Shakib Al Hasan when he was asked whether he would congratulate the all-rounder and former Tigers skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza on winning the polls in the recently concluded general elections.

An inspired spell of bowling from Josh Hazlewood and a brilliant attacking century from Travis Head put Australia in complete control of the first Test against the West Indies in Adelaide on Thursday.

Bangladesh stunned Australia by five wickets with pacer Rohanat Doullah Borson impressing with a four-wicket haul, including a hat-trick.

This year, most teams have put their faith on new faces to lead their teams

The tournament will feature a record 20 teams, up from 16 in the 2022 edition, and be staged at nine venues across North America, including New York, which will have a 34,000-seater stadium in Nassau County.

For a good few years in the last decade, two young players were regarded as the next big things in Bangladesh cricket's white-ball formats: Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman.

India edged Afghanistan in a dramatic second Super Over to sweep the Twenty20 series after the third match ended in a tie following Rohit Sharma's record-setting century on Wednesday.

"We are not going for that model as it won’t be sustainable,” BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told reporters.

Defending Bangladesh Premier League champions Comilla Victorians will take on Durdanto Dhaka on the opening day of the tournament on Friday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. 

Debutant Shamar Joseph gave the West Indies some hope after taking two top-order wickets during Australia's reply to the visitors' first innings total of 188 in the opening Test in Adelaide Wednesday.

The West Indies were dismissed for 188 shortly after tea on the first day of the opening Test at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.

The Black Caps, sent in to bat in game three of the five-match series, won by 45 runs after posting a colossal 224 for seven and restricting Pakistan to 179 for seven.

It was the highest score by a New Zealander in a T20 international, surpassing the previous best of 123 set by Brendon McCullum, and it equalled the world record of 16 sixes in an innings held by Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai.