Chance to stake nat'l claims begins today

The Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), considered the country's premier four-day domestic competition, will begin today with Walton Central Zone taking on Islami Bank East Zone at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra and BCB North Zone playing against Prime Bank South Zone at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.

The teams in the BCL are formed by the national selectors after observing the performances of the players in the National Cricket League, the oldest four-day cricket competition of the country. After the battle between the eight divisions, the top 80 players of the competition are then divided into four teams which are named as per their respective regions.

In essence, the BCL is the best opportunity for the players to impress the selectors and make a case for themselves to make it to the national team. From some of the more experienced players to the youngsters who have just started playing first-class cricket, a good performance in this league can help them go the distance.

While a majority of the national players have been rested for this competition, considering their month-long tour in New Zealand, there are however a couple of players from the New Zealand tour who will be playing in this competition. Taijul Islam -- who did not play a match on tour -- and Mosaddek Hossain, who did not play in the Tests, will be playing for South Zone and North Zone respectively.

However, this does not mean that they will not be selected for the one-off Test against India, which is scheduled to begin on February 9 in Hyderabad. According to selectors, the two players have been given a chance to play here because they did not get enough game-time in New Zealand.

There will also be a special focus on pace bowler Shafiul Islam, playing for North Zone. Shafiul was supposed to play in New Zealand before getting sidelined from the team due to injury. He is fully fit now and had also taken part in the last round of the NCL which ended last month. With Bangladesh's pace attack inexperienced as it is, it will not be surprising if Shafiul finds a place in the squad for the India tour.