Mortaza warmed the Kolkata Knight Riders bench for nearly a month after being bought for an unexpected US$600,000 and then conceded 58 runs in four overs for no wickets.

However Mortaza said it was a great experience to mix with the top players in the IPL. “Now I want to play and do well for my country,” Mortaza was quoted telling AFP. “That is the only thing on my mind.”

Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, said the team relied on Mortaza to improve on their eighth position in the last World Cup. “He is a kind of player you turn to when in trouble and invariably he will deliver whether it is with the bat or ball. The whole team relies on him. He is our superstar.”

The coach Jamie Siddons was confident the English conditions would favour Mortaza’s bowling. “Mashrafe is obviously one of our key players.”

Bangladesh begin their World Cup campaign in Trent Bridge against India on June 6. They won two of their three warm-up games, beating Netherlands by 64 runs, Scotland by 6 wickets, while losing to New Zealand by 4 wickets .

Mortaza picked up three wickets for 54 runs in the matches

A Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) was circulated by the commerce ministry on May 19, which was published as a gazette notification on Thursday.

The government had earlier barred exports of all varieties of rice twice, each for six months.

The last order expired on May 6.

BTCL officials told  on Thursday night after a meeting of the board that the decision, to be approved by telecoms regulator BTRC, may be effective from July 1.

The board also decided to introduce free connection in Upazilas from July 1 to Sept 30, said the official with knowledge of the matter on condition that he not be named.

The new tariff structure will reduce NWD call charges but hike local call cost, he added.

New connection fee for Dhaka is Tk 1,000, for Chittagong Tk 500 and for other districts and Upazilas, it is fee Tk 300, with deposits of the same amounts.

Under the present call rate, a client will give Tk 0.10 paisa per minute during off-peak hours and Tk 0.15 during peak hours. For NWD, peak hour call rate from one district to another is Tk 1.70 during off-peak hours. Peak hour is from 8am to 8pm.

From BTCL to private land-phone operators, the tariff is Tk 0.80 during peak hours and Tk 0.70 during off-peak hours. To mobile phone, it is Tk 1 per minute in peak hours and Tk 0.70 during off-peak hours.

Subscribers can talk free for some time every month. With a monthly line rent of Tk 80, a customer can have 50 minutes’ bonus talk time for calls from Dhaka to Chittagong. It is 100 minutes for divisional town for the line rent of Tk 70. At Upazilas it is 100-minute free time for a line rent of Tk 50.

BTCL customers get dialup internet connection without fee and an applicant is given a secret number to access internet. At present, internet use rate during off-peak is Tk 0.20 paisa and Tk 0.40 for peak hours.

BTCL has 8,72,000 subscribers.

The country’s largest landphone operator has the capacity to serve 13 lakh users although its customer base remained almost stagnant at 8.72 lakh in the last three years.

Last week, SM Khabiruzzaman, the managing director, told the media that they decided to offer Tk 0.25 per minute flat rate across the country, which was subject to approval from the BTCL board.

• Delhi are marginally ahead of Deccan in both batting and bowling: they average 29.52 per wicket while batting, at 7.72 per over. Deccan average 23.19 at 7.90. With the ball, Delhi average 19.64 per wicket, at 7.46 per over; for Deccan the corresponding numbers are 22.54 and 7.56.

• In his last three matches, Nehra has bowled 11 overs, conceded 35 runs, and taken three wickets – an average of 11.67, at an economy rate of 3.18. In his two matches against Deccan, though, Nehra has leaked 77 runs in eight overs, for an average of 25.67 at an economy rate of 9.62. This is the most expensive he has been against any team.

• Sehwag’s half-century was the 11th score of 50 or more by a Delhi batsman. Deccan have achieved this only seven times.

• Chasing a target might be a better option against Delhi: in six games when Delhi have batted first, they’ve won three and lost as many. Of eight games when they’ve chased a target, they’ve won seven, with only one loss, against Chennai by 18 runs.

• Left-arm fast bowlers have taken 48 out of 87 wickets for Delhi.

The journey to the last four stage has been contrasting for the two teams. Both started similarly, winning their first three matches, but whereas Delhi continued their strong performance throughout the five weeks, winning ten games, Deccan fell away alarmingly with just three wins in their last ten matches.

On current form, Delhi have to start off as favourites: Virender Sehwag’s return to form has further boosted an already fantastic batting line-up. AB de Villiers has guided the middle order superbly, and is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, while Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik have lent him excellent support. The three left-arm seamers – Ashish Nehra, Dirk Nannes and Pradeep Sangwan – have been on top of their form, while Amit Mishra and Rajat Bhatia have ensured there is hardly any weak link in the bowling. Overall, there are hardly any chinks in the side, and their consistency is largely due to the fact that so many different players have put their hands up at various points of the tournament.

Deccan, on the other hand, go into the game with little momentum, having lost their last two matches. The openers, Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, have often got them off to terrific starts, but an inconsistent middle order has been their bane: whereas de Villiers averages more than 54, and Karthik and Dilshan almost 40, Rohit Sharma, T Suman and Dwayne Smith all average in the 20s, with only Andrew Symonds (38.40) getting the runs consistently. Unlike Delhi, Deccan’s bowling has a few weak links too, though the part-timers, led by Rohit, have done a fine job so far. However, in a format in which ten minutes of sheer brilliance can decide the fate of a game, Deccan have enough matchwinners to turn a game.