BPL 2019-20: BCB announces the schedule for the upcoming tournament

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has finalized the schedule for the 2019-20 Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The opening match is set to take place between Chattogram Challengers and Sylhet Thunder on Wednesday, December 11 at the iconic Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The Final will take place on Friday, January 17 in Mirpur itself.

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram and the Sylhet International Stadium are other venues for the matches. Apart from Sylhet and Chattogram, Dhaka Platoon, Khulna Tigers, Rajshahi Royals, Cumilla Warriors and Rangpur Riders are the other five participating teams. The Cumilla franchise won the previous edition, beating the much-fancied Dhaka team in the final.

The tournament was earlier scheduled to get underway on December 6 with the opening ceremony on December 3. However, it was later postponed. Over the last few days, there has been a lot of ruckus surrounding the rules in the BPL. Nazmul Hasan Papon, the president of the BCB informed the media about the changes in rules and the regulations in a press conference.

Cumilla and Rangpur to be sponsored by the BCB

Following a conflict of interests between the BPL Governing Council and the other franchises, the BCB decided to run the tournament without the franchises. The Bangladesh board also wished to make the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Bengal nation, a memorable one. So, the body named the BPL after him, naming the league as Bangabandhu BPL.

Even as Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet teams have sponsors, the Cumilla and Rangpur teams will be sponsored by the BCB itself. As far as the tournament format is concerned, four teams will qualify for the playoffs after which the Eliminator, Qualifier 1, Qualifier 2 and the Final will take centrestage. The draft for the season took place on November 17.

The BPL will also mark the return of Mashrafe Mortaza, who hasn’t played after the 2019 World Cup where he was the skipper. The Bangladesh ODI captain will lead the Dhaka Platoons. However, the BPL would be devoid of premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been handed a suspension by the ICC for not reporting corrupt approaches.

Here is the schedule of Bangabandhu BPL 2019-20