Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday announced the provisional squads of the six divisional sides that will play in the upcoming National Cricket League.
The season's curtain-raiser tournament begins on October 10 and will be played under the same format as previous seasons.
The notable absentees are obviously the fourteen cricketers who signed up with the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), which incidentally will also start on the same day.
Defending first-class champions Khulna are without their captain Habibul Bashar and stalwart medium-pacer Monjurul Islam while last year's runners-up Rajshahi will only miss all-rounder Forhad Reza. Tushar Imran is likely to take up full-time captaincy duties this year while Monjurul's place would probably be contested by the likes of pacemen Mahmuduzzaman and Rabiul Islam.
Chittagong are the hardest hit with four cricketers -- Aftab Ahmed, Dhiman Ghosh, Mahbubul Karim and Nazimuddin -- having defected to the ICL. The national selectors have called up Partex's captain Tareq Ahmed and a place in the Chittagong side was also made available to Dhaka's Marshall Ayub, who missed last season to a knee injury.
Dhaka will be without left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique and his heir apparent Mosharraf Hossain while Mohammad Sharif will be replaced by Mohammad Azim but to find replacements for the two left-armers turned out to be almost impossible.
Barisal's captaincy might go to Hannan Sarkar as Shahriar Nafees is now with ICL and last season's bottom-placed side Sylhet are without batsman Alok Kapali, wicketkeeper Golam Mabud and paceman Tapash Baisya.
Likely replacements for the three could be under-19 wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun, Tarequzzaman, Kamrul Islam, Saikat Ali and Abul Hassan.
KHULNA
Imrul Kayes, Nazmus Sadat, Monirul Islam, Ashraful Aziz, Tushar Imran, Shakib Al Hasan, Taibur Rahman, Nahidul Haque, Mustafizur Rahman, Raihan Anas, Sahagir Hossain, Mohammad Salim, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Ziaur Rahman, Syed Rasel, Dollar Mahmud, Mahmuduzzaman, Rabiul Islam, Murad Khan, Abdur Razzak.
RAJSHAHI
Zunaed Siddiqui, Jahurul Islam, Shakil Haider, Farhad Hossain, Anisur Rahman, Ashraful Hossain, Mahbub Alam, Nayeem Islam, Rafiqul Islam, Khaled Mashud, Hamidul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahman, Saiful Islam, Mohammad Shahjada, Delwar Hossain, Alamgir Kabir, Shafaq Al Jabir, Saqlain Sajib, Suharwardi Shuvo, Shabbir Ahmed.
DHAKA
Javed Omar, Rashedul Haque, Amit Mazumder, Mohammad Ashraful, Mehrab Hossain, Mahmudullah Riyad, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Nadif Chowdhury, Ashiqul Islam, Anwar Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Imon Ahmed, Mahbubul Alam, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Azim, Elias Sunny, Humayun Kabir, Arafat Sunny, Rezaul Islam.
CHITTAGONG
Tamim Iqbal, Gazi Salahuddin, Nafees Iqbal, Tareq Ahmed, Faisal Hossain, Mahmudul Hasan, Masumuddowla, Marshall Ayub, Nadimuddin, Arman Hossain, Raihanuddin Arafat, Rubel Hossain, Moniruzzaman, Kamrul Islam, Golam Kibria, Tareq Aziz Khan, Mukhtar Ali, Yasin Arafat, Mohammad Younus, Mohammad Shukran.
BARISAL
Hannan Sarker, Uttam Sarker, Rony Talukdar, Mehrab Hossain, Rokibul Hasan, Nasiruddin Faruque, Imran Ahmed, Raisul Islam, Arafat Salauddin, Nasir Hossain, Abul Bashar, Shaheen Hossain, Robiul Karim, Sajidul Islam, Kamrul Islam, Monowar Hossain, Talha Jubair, Ariful Hoque, Saju Datta, Tariqul Islam.
SYLHET
Mohammad Mithun, Golam Rahman, Imtiaz Hossain, Sharifullah, Nizamuddin, Sanjay Chakraborty, Rajin Saleh, Tarequzzaman, Ejaz Ahmed, Kamrul Islam, Golam Mowla, Mushfiqur Rahim, Lablur Rahman, Saikat Ali, Abul Hassan, Nazmul Hossain, Sumon Saha, Shuvashish Roy, Rashedur Rahman, Nabil Samad.