BCB set to organise BCL to prepare for Pakistan ODI series

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will host a four-team Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) 50-over tournament from the third week of February. This competition is intended as preparation for Bangladesh's three-match ODI series against Pakistan in March.

Initially, the BCB had planned an Under-23 One-Day tournament for February to develop the national team pipeline. However, these plans have been shelved for now. Instead, the BCL One-Day tournament will proceed with senior team players.

Abu Emam Mohammed Kawsar, BCB tournament committee manager, confirmed the change. "We had planned for the BCL Under-23 in February, but cricket operations indicated we need our senior players in the field. Most of them haven't been playing cricket since Bangladesh is not in the ongoing T20 World Cup, and they have a Pakistan series in March featuring ODIs," Kawsar explained. "So, we are hosting BCL one-dayers with senior cricketers in February instead, and plan to hold the U-23 tournament at a more suitable time."

The first round of the BCL is tentatively scheduled to begin on February 22 or 23, with the final set for the first week of March. Rajshahi and Bogra will host the first three rounds, while the final will be at Mirpur Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

Kawsar also mentioned plans to host two rounds of the BCL four-day competition before the Test series against Pakistan in May. "We've scheduled the BCL four-day for the second week of April and aim to complete the first two rounds before the Test series. This should help our Test cricketers prepare for the longer-format matches," he said.

The four teams in the BCL are Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, and South Zone.