If all goes according to plan, the NCL T20 tournament will begin on September 15. Former national team captain Tamim Iqbal is expected to participate in this year’s edition as well.
Tamim had suffered a heart attack in March during a Dhaka Premier League match and was in critical condition. Six months after that incident, he has expressed a desire to return to cricket and has spoken with the Chattogram team management. This was confirmed today by BCB director and tournament committee chief Akram Khan during a press briefing at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.
While Tamim will play for Chattogram, Mushfiqur has shown interest in representing Sylhet instead of his native division Rajshahi. However, Mahmudullah’s team has not yet been confirmed.
For this year’s NCL T20, the BCB has finalized Bogura, Rajshahi, and Sylhet as the venues. Bogura and Rajshahi will host one match each per day, while the semifinals and final will be held at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The BCB plans to organize these knockout matches as day-night games.
Akram Khan mentioned that the idea of hosting the tournament at three different venues is part of the plan to spread cricket more widely. Although Chattogram was initially considered, it was eventually dropped. Explaining the reason, he said, “We first thought of MA Aziz Stadium (District Stadium, Chattogram), but the pitch quality there might not be suitable. That’s why we excluded it.”
Player match fees have also been increased for this season’s NCL T20. Last season, each player received BDT 25,000 per match, but this year it has been raised by another BDT 15,000, bringing the total to BDT 40,000 per match.
