Cricket returns with 3rd round
With all the drama that surrounded the players announcing on Monday that they would boycott all cricketing activities until an 11-point demand was met, there was doubt about when actual cricket would be played. The situation was brought under control on Wednesday when Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials met the players and agreed to nine of the 11 demands, with the two points later tacked on still up for discussion.
That set the stage for cricket to return today as the third round of the National Cricket League (NCL), which was originally scheduled to begin on October 24, will kick off in three different cities. The match between Dhaka Division and Khulna Division and the encounter between Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division will be held in Cox's Bazar. Meanwhile, Barishal Division will face Dhaka Metropolis at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura and Chittagong Division will take on Sylhet Division in Rajshahi.
The BCB had actually decided to cancel the third round but the players insisted on playing during their meeting with the board members on Wednesday night.
With normalcy slowly returning to cricket, the third round will also be a final chance for the players to prove their mettle and make it to the Test squad for the upcoming tour in India in November, which was also put in jeopardy by the unprecedented boycott that took the country's cricket by storm.
Among many, right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed, who had missed out on the first two rounds of the four-day tournament, had earlier confirmed that he will be playing the third round for Dhaka Metropolis. The 24-year old pacer, who played his last Test in October 2017, will be looking to impress the selectors and bring himself into contention for the Test squad.
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