The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is planning to use the pink ball in the country’s only franchise-based four-day tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL). This decision has been made keeping in mind the extreme heat of May, to create a more tolerable playing environment for the cricketers.
BCB Tournament Committee Chairman Akram Khan said, “We are considering this matter. We want to do something different this time because the tournament will be held in May when the heat will be a major factor. Since we are planning to use the pink ball, we will have to play at a Test venue where floodlights won’t be an issue.”
However, this is not the first time the pink ball will be used in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket. Previously, in 2013, the BCL final between Central Zone and North Zone was played with a pink ball at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
BCL, one of the most important platforms for red-ball cricket in Bangladesh, will begin right after the ongoing Dhaka Premier League ends. Besides providing relief from the heat, BCB also aims to assess the feasibility of organizing more day-night four- or five-day matches in the country through this edition of BCL. This aligns with the global trend in Test cricket.
Previously, BCL used to be held during the winter, usually in December. However, for the first time, it will now take place in mid-summer. The December slot has been allocated for the newly introduced National Cricket League (NCL) T20 tournament, which led to the BCL being rescheduled to April-May.
