NCL four-day competition gets underway tomorrow

The 27th edition of the National Cricket League's (NCL) four-day format will get underway tomorrow across three cities and four venues in the country. As in previous editions, a total of eight teams will feature in the 2025-26 season of the prestigious domestic first-class competition.

• Mymensingh Division are set to make their debut, replacing Dhaka Metro.
• Kookaburra balls will be used for the first two rounds to help the national Test cricketers prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series against Ireland, scheduled from November 11 to 23 in Sylhet and Mirpur, where Kookaburra balls will also be used. The remaining five rounds of the NCL, which will not feature the national Test cricketers, will revert to Duke balls, as in previous editions.
• Veteran Mushfiqur Rahim will represent reigning champions Sylhet Division this year. Mushfiqur was expected to play for Sylhet during the recently concluded NCL T20, but due to personal commitments following the tournament's rescheduling caused by inclement weather, he withdrew from participation.
• Newcomers Mymensingh will face Sylhet in their opening-round fixture at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, while Dhaka Division will take on Rangpur Division at the Sylhet Outer Stadium. In the other first-round matches, Khulna Division will host Barishal Division, and Chattogram Division will meet Rajshahi Division in Rajshahi.
• The competition will run until December 9, with all matches streamed live on the BCB's YouTube channel.
• On paper, Barishal Division appear the least star-studded side, with no current national Test cricketers in their squad. The team will be led by white-ball left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam. A similar situation applies to Rangpur Division, who recently clinched back-to-back NCL T20 titles, though they have Litton Das, Shoriful Islam, and Rishad Hossain listed as reserve players.
• Sylhet Division look the strongest on paper, with several national cricketers in their ranks. Sylhet will be boosted by the presence of Zakir Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ebadot Hossain, and Khaled Ahmed, while Jaker Ali, Tanzim Sakib, and Nasum Ahmed are among their standbys.
• Even though NCL T20 saw an increase in players' match fees, the four-day version of the competition will not see a hike in this regard, remaining 80,000 BDT as in previous editions. However, the day allowance will see an increase of 500 BDT, similar to the T20 version.