Tag: Bangladesh Premier League

DHAKA: The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) governing council has decided to remove Chattogram as a venue for the remainder of the 2025–26 season, following scheduling disruptions caused by a two-day suspension of the tournament earlier this week.

The BPL was paused after the death of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, forcing organisers to revise the tournament schedule.

As a result, Sylhet will continue to host matches until January 12, after which the action will shift to Dhaka for three match days, followed by the playoffs and the final, scheduled for January 23.

BPL member secretary Iftekhar Rahman said the decision was driven by logistical constraints and the need to safeguard Bangladesh players’ preparations ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which begins shortly after the league concludes.

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“There was no room to create gaps in our fixtures,” Iftekhar said. “Shifting from Sylhet to Chattogram would require at least two days, especially for moving broadcast equipment between the two cities. After losing two match days earlier in the week, that move was no longer feasible.”

He added that maintaining the original final date was a key consideration.

“We could not afford to push the final even by a day, as the national team needs time to prepare for the World Cup. Unfortunately, that meant Chattogram had to be dropped from the remaining schedule.”

Iftekhar acknowledged the disappointment of fans in Chattogram but noted that venue allocations often involve trade-offs.

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“If we had started the tournament in Chattogram, Sylhet would have missed out. These decisions are never easy, but we had to weigh all factors,” he concluded.

The venue reshuffle is the latest challenge in what has been a turbulent BPL season.

The tournament began under a cloud after the Chattogram Royals’ owner withdrew from the franchise just a day before the opening match on December 26.

Since then, Noakhali Express coach Khaled Mahmud staged a walkout over inadequate practice facilities, while the league was also rocked by tragedy when Dhaka Capitals assistant coach Mahbub Ali Zaki passed away moments before their fixture against Rajshahi Warriors.

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The next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) may be rescheduled from its traditional December–January window to May 2026, setting up a potential clash with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Indian Premier League (IPL).

The development comes in light of Bangladesh’s upcoming general elections, with BPL chairman Mahbub Anam confirming on Thursday that alternative windows are being considered.

“BPL slot may change due to the elections,” Mahbub said while speaking to local media.

“It could be held before December, or another slot is being planned. We will take the next steps depending on the government’s decision. In this regard, May is another option.”

The tentative move follows an emergency board meeting held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, a day after Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus directed authorities to complete all election preparations by the end of this year. General elections in Bangladesh are expected in early 2026.

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If finalised, the new BPL window would place the tournament directly in competition with the IPL 2026 and the 11th edition of the PSL.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026, set to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February, has also played a role in shifting BPL’s potential schedule.

Mahbub Anam, who recently replaced Faruque Ahmed as BPL chairman, also acknowledged the need to elevate the league’s brand image and rectify past issues.

“BPL needs to set up its own standard. In the past, there were some mistakes, and the BCB has to take responsibility. We’ll try to increase the brand value of the BPL,” he stated.

He further revealed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is actively exploring the possibility of expanding the tournament’s venue list beyond Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.

“We will try to increase the number of venues. New ones will be added if they meet ICC standards and can offer proper accommodation for players,” Mahbub added.

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Pakistan’s batting prodigy Saim Ayub has been roped in by Dhaka Capitals for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2025 during the player draft on Monday.

The BPL 2025 Draft was held at a luxurious five-star hotel in Dhaka, where the teams finalised their squads for the upcoming edition. Bangladesh pace bowler Taskin Ahmed was the first pick, made by Durbar Rajshahi.

Other than Saim, a total of 14 players from Pakistan were picked during the BPL Draft, including Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Khan and Faheem Ashraf.

It’s worth noting that the 11th season of the BPL will be played from December 27 2024 across multiple venues in the country.

BPL 2025 Squads After Draft

Fortune Barishal

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Kyle Mayers (West Indies), David Malan (England), Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan), Mohammad Ali (Pakistan), Jahandad Khan (Pakistan)
Draft Selections: Mahmudullah Riyad, Tanvir Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Ripon Mondol, Ebadot Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taijul Islam, Shahidul Islam, Ariful Islam, James Fuller (England), Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka), Nadre Burger (South Africa)

Sylhet Strikers

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Zakir Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Paul Stirling (Ireland), George Munsey (Scotland)
Draft Selections: Rony Talukdar, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Ruel Mia, Ariful Haque, Nihaduzzaman, Nahidul Islam, Rahkeem Cornwall (West Indies), Samiullah Shenwari (Afghanistan), Reece Topley (England)

Khulna Tigers

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Nasum Ahmed, Afif Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz
Draft Selections: Hasan Mahmud, Naim Sheikh, Imrul Kayes, Mahidul Ankon, Abu Hider Rony, Ziaur Rahman, Mahfuzur Rahman Rabbi, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Hasnain (Pakistan), Oshane Thomas (West Indies), Lewis Gregory (England), Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan)

Rangpur Riders

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Nurul Hasan Sohan, Sheikh Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Khushdil Shah (Pakistan), Alex Hales (England), Iftikhar Ahmed (Pakistan), Allah Ghazanfar (Afghanistan), Saurabh Netravalkar (USA), Steven Ryan Taylor (USA)
Draft Selections: Nahid Rana, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Rakibul Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Irfan Sukkur, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Taufiq Khan Tushar, Akif Javed (Pakistan), Curtis Campher (Ireland)

Dhaka Capitals

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Johnson Charles (West Indies), Stephen Eskinazi (England), Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Amir Hamza (Afghanistan)
Draft Selections: Litton Das, Habibur Rahman Sohan, Abu Jayed Rahi, Mukidul Islam Mugdha, Mushfik Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Munim Shahriar, Asif Hasan Mitul, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Saim Ayub (Pakistan), Mir Hamza (Afghanistan)

Chittagong Kings

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Shakib Al Hasan, Shariful Islam (Direct signing), Moeen Ali (England), Usman Khan (Pakistan), Haider Ali (Pakistan), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), Mohammad Wasim Jr. (Pakistan), Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Draft Selections: Shamim Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Khaled Ahmed, Alis Al Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Naim Islam, Maruf Mridha, Rahatul Ferdous Javed, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Marshall Ayub, Graham Clark (England), Thomas O’Connell (Australia)

Durbar Rajshahi

Direct Signings and Retained Players: Anamul Haque Bijoy, Zishan Alam
Draft Selections: Taskin Ahmed, Jisan Alam, Yasir Ali Rabbi, Sabbir Hossain, Sanjamul Islam, M Meherob Hossain, Akbar Ali, Hasan Murad, Shafiul Islam, Mohr Sheikh Antor, Saad Nasim (Pakistan), Lahiru Samarakkon (Sri Lanka)

READ: Saim Ayub, Kamran Ghulam lead Pakistan’s fightback after Leach’s early strikes

SYLHET: Pakistan’s veteran pacer Mohammad Amir has equalled Shahid Afridi’s record in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as he became the joint third-fastest to take 50 wickets in the league’s history.

Amir, who is representing Sylhet Superstars in the ongoing edition of the BPL, achieved the landmark in the home side’s fixture against Khulna Tigers on Monday.

The left-arm pacer struck on the first delivery of his second over as he deceived Mahmudul Hasan Joy with a slower delivery.

With his first wicket of the ongoing 30th match of the BPL, Amir joined the elusive list of bowlers, who took fewer innings to take 50 wickets in Bangladesh’s marquee league.

Former West Indian bowler Kevon Cooper leads the list as he achieved the landmark in just 30 matches, followed by his compatriot Dwayne Bravo (34).

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s star all-rounder Afridi, who was at the third spot, has been joined by countrymate Amir after the latter took 50 wickets in 35 BPL matches.

It is worth mentioning here that Amir has thus far, bowled two overs in the ongoing match and took one wicket at the cost of 17 runs.

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CHITTAGONG: Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmed fired all cylinders to go berserk and hit a 45-ball century to power his Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) team Fortune Barishal to a dominating 67-run victory over Rangpur Riders.

Put into batters, Fortune Barishal endured an early setback as they slipped to just 46/4 in the sixth over.

However, Iftikhar, coming out to bat at number six, turned the game on its head with his belligerent hitting and stitched an unbeaten record partnership with skipper Shakib Al Hassan.

The duo put on a record 192-run partnership for the fifth wicket and powered their side to a mammoth 238/4. Their unbeaten stand was the highest fifth-wicket partnership in the T20 format.

Iftikhar was the core aggressor of the game-changing fifth wicket stand as he struck a quickfire 100 off just 45 balls, hitting six boundaries and nine sixes.

Shakib, on the other hand, was also impressive as he scored 89 not out off just 43 balls and smashed nine boundaries and six sixes.

Young pacer Hasan Mahmud led the bowling attack for the Riders with 2/31 while Haris Rauf also picked two wickets but was expensive as he leaked 42 runs.

Set to chase 239, the Riders could amass 171/9 in their quota of 20 overs despite a vital 44-run knock of Shamim Hossain.

The Riders kept losing wickets at regular intervals amid the pursuit and none of their batters could go big.

Shamim (44) and Mohammad Nawaz (34) put on a brief fight amid their 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket but it was not enough.

Mehidy Hasan Mirza was the pick of the bowlers for Barishal as he picked 3/26, while Mohammad Wasim and Kamrul Islam claimed two wickets each.

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CHITTAGONG: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan added another feather to his cap as he completed 6000 runs in T20 cricket.

Rizwan, who is currently representing Comilla Victorians in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) struck a gritty half-century against Dhaka Dominators and played a vital role in his team’s triumph.

Following his anchoring 55-run knock, the right-handed batter amassed the 6000-run mark in T20 cricket.

Meanwhile, after Rizwan settled things down for the Victorians, Khushdil Shah launched an onslaught and struck a quickfire 64 off just 24 deliveries and powered his side to 184-4 in 20 overs.

Khushdil’s blitz featured seven boundaries and five sixes.

The 185-run target then turned out too much for the Dominators as they fell 33 runs short of the victory despite their skipper Nasir Hossain’s 66-run knock.

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CHITTAGONG: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan reached here via helicopter mere hours after reaching Dhaka and was named in the Playing XI for Comilla Victorians against Fortune Barishal.

Rizwan, who was busy on national duty amid the three-match ODI series against New Zealand till Friday has reached here today to play his first Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 fixture for the Victorians.

The right-handed batter enjoyed a successful series with the bat as he accumulated 182 runs in three matches and remained the top-scorer.

His brilliance, however, could not fire Pakistan to seal the series as Glenn Phillips’ brisk 66-run knock led New Zealand to a historic ODI series victory.

According to the details, briefly, after the conclusion of the home ODI series, Rizwan immediately left for the airport from the stadium and took a flight to Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

The wicketkeeper batter was poised to represent the Victorians in the ongoing edition of the BPL and the side made a desperate effort to get back on the winning track after two successive defeats by boarding him in a helicopter.

According to Bangladeshi media, Rizwan’s flight landed in Dhaka at 10:20 am (BST) and he then boarded a helicopter which landed at Women’s Sports Complex ground beside the Zahur Ahmed Chowhdury Stadium in Chattogram at 12:45 pm (BST).

READ: New Zealand squad departs for India after concluding Pakistan tour