Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is planning a significant shake-up for its traditional first-class competition, the National Cricket League (NCL), with ambitions to introduce one overseas player per team. This strategic move aims to inject greater competition and elevate the standard of the domestic tournament, a BCB official confirmed to Cricbuzz.
The upcoming NCL season is scheduled to run from October 15th to November 30th. The inclusion of foreign cricketers isn't entirely new to the NCL, having been a feature in the past.
It's widely believed that these overseas additions previously played a positive role in enhancing the skills of local players.
"We are planning to seek board approval for each team to be able to feature one foreign player in the NCL," stated the BCB official. "It used to happen, but hasn't for a long time. Now that we also play on green-top wickets in the NCL, if we have foreign pacers, it will be beneficial for our domestic batters. They will get the opportunity to play and practice against good quality bowlers for an extended period."
The primary challenge for the BCB will be securing top-tier overseas talent during the NCL window. The tournament coincides with other major first-class competitions like India's Ranji Trophy and Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, potentially limiting the availability of high-calibre players from those nations.
The official acknowledged this hurdle, suggesting the BCB "might have to look at other countries."
In related news, BCB Head of Programme Minhajul Abedin confirmed that the domestic cricket season will kick off with the NCL T20 from September 14th to October 4th. This will be followed by the 50-over franchise-based Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), tentatively scheduled from December 4th to 10th.
Further reports suggest that a foreign team is set to participate in the four-day BCL next February, after the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). A BCB source indicated that the decision is almost finalised, with Afghanistan 'A' or their High Performance squad being considered as the likely invitees.
