The first edition of the Bangladesh Cricket League (Longer Version) will start from December 27. The franchise based 4-day competition will be participated by four zonal teams: Walton Central Zone, Prime Bank South Zone, Islami Bank East Zone and BCB North Zone.  

BCB's Tournament Committee Chairman Naimur Rahman said: "We are confident that this event will be very competitive and the standard of cricket will be high because the very best of our first class cricketers have been selected for the four teams. The match fees and other allowances will be higher than the National Cricket League (NCL) and in the long run the country's cricket will be benefited as players will fight harder in the NCL to be picked for the BCL.

"We did not look at names while selecting the players. Rather, performance in the last NCL was the main criteria and on that basis some 80 cricketers have been made available to the franchises."   

The first edition will be played at two venues, the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS), Dhaka and the Shahid Chandu Stadium (SCS), Bogra. The top two finishers on points will play in the final.

"The final will be a day-night game where a pink ball will be used. The league matches will be completed before the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 and the final will be held at a suitable time after the BPL," informed Rahman.

The Tournament Committee Chairman also said that the BCB will soon initiate the process to obtain first class status for the BCL. Currently the NCL is the country's only first class competition.

ITINERARY