The Bangladesh Cricket Board has decided to end the two-tier National Cricket League, the country’s traditional first-class tournament from next season.
BCB terminates two-tier National Cricket League
The two-tier NCL was introduced by BCB in the season 2015-16 which involved promotion to make more competitions. But the board has decided to end the league with an upcoming edition which is scheduled to begin on October 10 and create a round-robin league.
It is said that a technical committee has already submitted a proposal to the board regarding the new league and is likely to get approved. The proposal has stated that the divisional team can have seven players and will have the opportunity to pick other cricketers through a player draft system.
On this occasion, BCB chief selector and head of the technical committee Minhajul Abedin confirmed the development on Thursday.
“Yes, we have proposed to demolish the two-tier NCL and intend to play the tournament through round robin league with home and away matches,” said Minhajul, emphasizing that home and away matches will enhance competition. “We played home and away NCL earlier and it was very competitive and we expect the same from the coming season if the proposal is approved by the board.”
“There are several instances where we have found the leading batsman of the country don’t have the opportunity to play the leading bowler in NCL as they are playing in different tiers and this cannot go on forever because you can only be tested when you are facing tough opponents,” said the official.
“You will see certain divisions have five pace bowlers or say three-wicket keepers and they are not ready to exchange their players even though they cannot accommodate everyone in their playing XI.
“When the teams can retain seven to eight and have the chance to pick another seven cricketers from the player’s draft, they will not be ready to fill their squad with five to six pace bowlers or spinners as they need to bring balance in their team. In that case, the cricketers who were warming the bench in certain divisions will have the opportunity to play the tournament,” he said.
He also mentioned the cricketers might not be comfortable playing different divisions. If they are impressive with their performance the team will retain them.
“This is something (representing division that they don’t belong) we talked about but in the end, when cricketers realize that the system that will be in place is expected to benefit them, they will welcome it. If you are good enough, your division will retain you. And to make sure he can represent his division, his urge to perform will be much higher than before,” he concluded.
Bangladesh cricket team is set to play a three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting on September 21. At the pre-match conference, Lockie Ferguson spoke up about the challenges they could face against Bangladesh and Litton Das welcomed the key players Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah saying to enjoy their match rather than taking pressure on their comeback.
Bangladesh will be facing New Zealand on the first ODI match on their home tour on September 21, at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
