Bangladesh Cricket Board has dropped the one-day version of National Cricket League from the calendar of the coming season on the pretext of too much cricket.
The domestic cricket calendar for the 2011-12 season, prepared by cricket operations committee, was approved on Saturday without the one-day version of NCL
The one-day version has been an integral part of the NCL in the domestic calendar since it was introduced in 2000-01, a season after the country’s lone first-class cricket tournament started.
Since its inception only one season – 2009-10 – the tournament could not be held.
We feel that the players need some rest as there is too much cricket this season, so we decided not to hold the NCL one-day tournament,’ said Ahmed Sazzadul Alam, vice-president of the BCB who attended the cricket operations committee meeting as a special invitee, told New Age.
‘Also we have shortage of ground to hold so many tournaments. So we decided to hold only four-day version of the NCL. There will also be no Twenty20 version as we are planning a separate tournament – Bangladesh Premier League,’ he said.
‘The season kicks off with the inter-district one-day tournament which begins on September 15 with the participation all 64 districts,’ he said.
The NCL longer version first phase – played between eight teams on a single league basis – will commence on October 18. Rangpur division and Dhaka Metropolitan team will join the six divisional sides for the first phase from which four teams will qualify for the second phase beginning on December 15.
The club season begins with the 20-team Dhaka First Division Cricket League Twenty-20 tournament on October 15. The one-day format of the Dhaka First Division Cricket League follows next from November 12 till January 12.
Dhaka Premier League, compromising 12 teams, will starts with a Twenty-20 tournament on January 15.
The one-day edition will be held from February 2 to March 25.
‘There will be some adjustments to the calendar. But we are determined to follow this calendar strictly,’ Sazzadul Alam said.
-With New Age input
