Lower-tier leagues set to begin in November

The lower-tier cricketers of Bangladesh receive some good news at last, long after the coronavirus outbreak last year, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director and the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed informed the lower-division leagues are set to begin in November this year.

Although the top-level cricket involving the national team returned gradually alongside the Dhaka Premier League, however, the lower-division cricket was kept to a standstill, where the players had spent anxious time over the past two years.

The financial struggle has even forced many cricketers to seek alternate means of livelihood and thus, the announcement will arrive as a huge source of relief to the lower-tier cricketers of Bangladesh.

"We [CCDM] have been able to complete the Dhaka Premier League successfully and at this moment it has become important for us to get the lower-division leagues back to the field. We already had a discussion on this issue and at the moment, we're working on coordinating so that we can start the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd division cricket in November-December this year.

"We've already planned to sit with all the clubs of all the divisions soon, like we do every year. We need to set the dates to play the tournament within the cricket season, which is November, December, January, and February," Inam told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Inam informed that the authorities will follow the Covid-19 guidelines set by the government and as per suggestions of the board and CCDM.

"Now the country is slowly resuming normality. There is no lockdown and every sector is open, including even schools and colleges. But there is a guideline given by the government so we'll see and follow those in the lower-division leagues and also take suggestions from the BCB and CCDM," added Inam.

The CCDM chairman further added that they are willing to return to the usual 50-over format of the Dhaka Premier League for the upcoming season, set to begin in March-April.

"Last year we had a tiny window in which we had to complete the tournament by resorting to the T20 format. Since Dhaka Premier League, one of the most popular leagues of the country, is an A-list tournament and one-day international being our strongest format, the Dhaka League will be played in its traditional 50-over format," Inam concluded.