The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday unveiled the trophy for the first edition of NCL T20 tournament.

The eight-team tournament would begin on December 11, with all the matches scheduled to be held in Sylhet. BCB officials informed that the prize money for the winners would be Tk 20 lakh.

The tournament is a big opportunity for local players to gain T20 exposure and for BCB to filter talents for the premier T20 tournament in the country, which is the BPL.

The captains of the eight teams lauded the measures for holding the tournament during a ceremony at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday. The need for a T20 tournament alongside BPL had been felt and last year the BCB made room in its tight schedule to satisfy the demands of local T20 stars.

"Thanks to BCB for arranging such a tournament. We've been playing in the BPL for a long time but we probably played just one domestic T20 tournament in DPL before. I think it's a great initiative before the BPL. It's a great platform for us to prepare ourselves," Yasir Ali Chowdhury, who will skipper Chattogram Division, told the media at the event.

"This was long overdue. I hope this will go well and the aim of this tournament will be fulfilled," Khulna's stand-in skipper Ziaur Rahman echoed Yasir's words.

The 32-match tournament will end on December, with national team skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto also featuring in the very first edition