The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the schedule for the upcoming Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL).
The league stage of the tournament will be held from December 11 to January 11. The top four sides from the league stage will then advance to the finals bracket.
In the finals bracket, the third placed team from the league will play against the fourth placed team in the Eliminator, while the first placed team will play against the second placed team in the 1st Qualifier on January 13. The winner of the 1st Qualifier will advance directly to the grand final on January 17, while the loser of that match will play against the winner of the Eliminator for the other grand final berth on January 15.
The opening match of the tournament will be held between Chattogram Challengers and Sylhet Thunder in Dhaka on December 11, while the second match will see Cumilla Warriors lock horns with Rangpur Rangers on the same day under lights.
Of the 42 group stage matches, the first eight will be held in Dhaka from December 11-14. Subsequently, the teams will move to Chittagong for matches 9-20 from December 17-24.
The teams will return to Dhaka for match number 21-28 from December 27-31, before going to Sylhet for 29-34th match from January 2-4. The remaining matches, including the finals bracket, will be held in Dhaka.
The BBPL is a one-off special edition of a T20 tournament, organized to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Unlike previous editions of Bangladesh Premier League, the BBPL will not include franchises, and the BCB will run all seven participating teams with the help of sponsors.
The teams are: Dhaka Platoon, Khulna Tigers, Rajshahi Royals, Sylhet Thunder, Chattogram Challengers, Cumilla Warriors and Rangpur Rangers.
The BCB has assigned one director to each team. BCB Director Jalal Yunus will be responsible for Chattogram, Hossain Siraj for Rajshahi, Khaled Mahmud for Khulna, Naimur Rahman for Cumilla, Akram Khan for Rangpur, Tanjil Chowdhury for Sylhet, and Golam Mortuza for Dhaka.
Jamuna Bank and Premier Bank will be the sponsors of Dhaka and Khulna, respectively, while Akhtar Furnishers will back Chattogram. Sylhet will be sponsored by Jivani Footwear Company, and IPC is the sponsor for Rajshahi.
Rangpur and Cumilla will be run solely by the BCB.
The player draft for the BBPL was held on November 17.
