Teams set as BCL begins Sunday

The players’ draft for the upcoming 10th Bangladesh Cricket League was completed on Tuesday as all teams picked their 15-man squad for the tournament that starts on November 20.

For the second consecutive season, the tournament will be played in both four-day and One-Day formats. The One-Day tournament will start on November 20 and end on November 27, with the One-Day International series against India in mind.

The tournament will be played in a single-league format, where the top two teams in the points table will play in the final.

The matches of the league stages will be played in BKSP in Savar, while the final will be a day-night match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The matches in the group stage will be played on November 20, 22, and 24, with all the matches starting at 9 AM. The final will be on November 27, which will be a day-night affair, starting at 12:30.

The four-day part of the tournament will start in early December.

Ahead of the tournament, the players’ draft was completed on Tuesday, with all four teams being able to retain six players from the last edition, and had to pick nine others to complete their squads.

A few big names were missing from the draft as Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, and Nurul Hasan Sohan, along with youngster Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, will be busy playing the Abu Dhabi T10 league during this period. They will be unavailable till November 30, before returning for the India series.

The players’ draft saw defending Champions of both formats in BCL, Walton Central Zone, hold on to key players such as skipper Mosaddek Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, and Hasan Murad.

They picked up young pacer Hasan Mahmud, along with former Bangladesh Test skipper Mominul Haque and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. They also added the likes of Nahidul Islam, Abdul Mazid, Jaker Ali, and Mushfik Hasan, who has been a revelation in this year’s National Cricket League.

BCB South Zone retained Anamul Haque, Nasum Ahmed, Tawhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ziaur Rahman, and Zakir Hasan from the last edition. They added some youth to the squad as they picked leg-spinner Rishad Hossain and pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, along with the experience of Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Naeem Islam, and Alauddin Babu.

Islami Bank East Zone retained all of their stars in Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, and Imrul Kayes, along with left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam.

With the batting-heavy retained group, they opted to go for bowlers in the draft as they picked Ebadot Hossain, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Rubel Hossain, and Nabil Samad. They also added young batter Mahmudul Hasan Joy
into the fray.

BCB North Zone also had a star-studded group of retained players, including Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Das, Sunzamul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saif Uddin, and Akbar Ali.

They went on to add several youngsters in the draft as they picked up Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Rakibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Ripan Mondol, and Nayeem Hasan.