New era | BCB directors meeting today

The Bangladesh Cricket Board board will hold a meeting today to discuss, among other things, the national team’s performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told the media on Monday that several issues will be discussed during the meeting, including the Sheikh Hasina Stadium project.

“In this meeting we will discuss routine matters. There will be discussions on Sheikh Hasina Stadium and the procedure of international appointments,” he said.

‘In addition, it is also a routine discussion to talk about the performance of the national team after a major event. There will also be discussions about financial matters, game development, grounds and facilities.’

The national team returned from the West Indies on Friday after being eliminated in the Super Eight stage. They failed to win their last match against Afghanistan. They have a series of matches scheduled against Afghanistan in the Future Tours programme, but that series is still uncertain due to scheduling issues.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board had requested to play the series in India this month, which BCB refused.

Nizamuddin said they were in talks with the Afghan administration to reschedule the series.

“We had an FTP commitment with Afghanistan for two Tests, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals. We are working on it together with them. No final decision has been made yet. However, we are trying to reschedule it to an appropriate time,” he said.

Another issue for BCB in the coming months will be the Bangladesh Premier League as the three-year contract handed to the franchises expired after the last edition and will have to be extended.

The BCB CEO said that most existing franchises have expressed interest in going ahead with the tournament and will announce the dates as soon as they receive confirmation.

“We have already spoken to the existing franchises and most have confirmed that they will play. A few teams have not yet informed us. Once we know, we will go ahead with our plans,” Nizamuddin told the media.

More than seven teams could participate in the 2025 edition of the tournament, according to BCB managing director and BPL board chairman Sheikh Sohel.

‘We are in discussions with the existing teams. Most of them will probably be there. There may be one or more,” he told New Age.