New T20 league on way with NCL teams

The need for a change in Bangladesh's T20 fortunes had eventually spurred Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to make a move, and discussions have gone ahead for Bangladesh's newest T20 league for local players following yesterday's meeting between BCB's Tournament Committee and Technical Committee.

Cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus, Tournament Committee chairman Sajjadul Alam Bobby and chairman of selection panel Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu were among those present in the meeting.

Not long ago, just ahead of the recent Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a few players just outside the periphery of the national team were discussing how difficult it was to find T20 rhythm before the BPL.

"It would be great if we can have another T20 league apart from BPL. It would really help with T20s and also help players grow," one of the players had said.

What appeared to be quite unlikely at that point, due to a packed domestic schedule, is now becoming a reality.

The new T20 league would take place in December, pending approval of the board. To open a slot for a new T20 tournament, the board had to make changes to tournament structure and schedules in the cricket calendar.

The National Cricket League (NCL) will begin on October 15 but this time the tournament will take place in single league format, meaning each team will play each other once -- unlike the previous two-tier system.

The NCL teams would also be the teams in the new T20 league. "The selection panel will pick the players for the eight sides. Everyone at the meeting agreed and we are awaiting the board's approval," chief coordinator of programs Minhajul Abedin said in a video message yesterday.

"In franchise cricket there are foreign players so it was important to have a tournament for local players. So we have decided to have a T20 tournament in first week of December with the eight NCL teams. Some 128 to 130 cricketers would get the opportunity to play and be able to overcome their deficiencies in this format, helping Bangladesh cricket," Minhajul added.

Also, the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), which is played in December during winter, will now be played between April and May to prioritise the preparations of facing hot and humid conditions in longer-version international matches. Longer-version cricket has been on the agenda and Minhajul said that consideration was given so that national team players can play more domestic red-ball cricket.

A fruitful meeting saw some changes in the calendar which can help Bangladesh fulfill shortcomings in the two formats – Tests and T20Is – that they have struggled to develop up to expectations over the years.