Local cricketers breathe sigh of relief

Although things appear to be picture-perfect for the Bangladesh national cricket team on their tour of New Zealand, the scenario is at stark contrast with the circumstances of a majority of domestic cricketers.

Local cricketers have endured a long wait for the resumption of the Dhaka Premier League, (DPL) which was suspended after the first round since the pandemic started back in March last year.

Although the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) arranged two domestic competitions on a limited scale as the sport began to re-emerge during the pandemic, the majority of local cricketers -- who mainly rely on the DPL -- faced financially and mentally pressures.

Finally they can breathe a sigh of relief as the DPL is set to begin from May 6 with a new format.

The club-based domestic competition will now be played in the T20 format, informed chairman of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) Kazi Inam Ahmed after a meeting yesterday.

"We have decided to start the Dhaka Premier League once more and we have decided to begin from May 6. It's a difficult situation since the schedule is very tight. It will be a T20 format. The matches [the league was halted after one round of matches] that were played last year, we decided to abandon then and start fresh," said Inam.

Six days after the beginning the tournament on May 6, there will be a break for Eid and the Tigers' Sri Lanka series.

The ODI series against Sri Lanka is expected to begin on May 20 and the DPL is expected to resume after the three-match ODI series.

Local cricketers, who were getting desperate during the pandemic with no matches taking place, began to breathe a little easier.

"It is a huge relief," said Taibur Parvez, a regular performer in the domestic leagues. He went on to add: "I think we were all waiting for the league to resume and finally the board took the initiative and made it happen. We should thank the BCB. We were having a tough time since the coronavirus started last year and although international cricket resumed and the leagues of the other cricketing nations also resumed, we were still waiting for cricket to return to Bangladesh," Parvez added.