Since August 5 of last year, sports activities in Chattogram have been almost completely stopped. Many athletes have lost their way. In this difficult time, two directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Akram Khan and Monjur Alam Manju, have brought some good news for the cricketers. With the help of BCB, they are planning to organize a T20 tournament in Chattogram.
This tournament will include 11 districts from the Chattogram Division. It will be held from August 28 to September 10. All matches will take place at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in the port city of Chattogram. The 11 district teams will be divided into two groups for the group stage. After that, the top four teams from the two groups will move on to the semifinals, followed by the final.
BCB’s district coaches will be responsible for forming the teams. Although the teams represent districts, 11 different companies will sponsor them. These sponsors include Ispahani Group, Elite Paint Group of Companies, Continental Group, Asia Group, and Fortis Group. Each company will support one or more teams.
Only players from their own districts can play in this tournament. A primary meeting regarding the tournament was held last Monday. BCB director and tournament committee chairman, said, “Since there has been no sports in Chattogram, we thought of arranging a tournament to keep the cricketers active. That’s why we are organizing this tournament with BCB’s support. We hope it will be a competitive tournament since the district teams will participate.”
BCB’s other director, Monjur Alam Manju, said that the National Cricket League’s T20 version is scheduled for September. This Chattogram tournament will surely help the players prepare for that. He also mentioned that several industrial companies in Chattogram have come forward to help make the tournament a success. He said, “We hope this tournament will help revive sports in Chattogram, at least to some extent.”
Both directors, Akram Khan and Monjur Alam Manju, also said that the tournament will include attractive prize money.
