Sports Desk:

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official said on Saturday that they are set to relaunch National Cricket League (NCL) in T20 format as part of preparation for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played from 3 October across the country.

BCB women’s wing failed to host the NCL, which is usually played in 50-over format, last year due to unknown reasons but BCB women’s wing head Habibul Bashar said that they are eyeing to start this edition of eight-team NCL for women cricketers on 10-22 August at the Shaheed AHM Kamaruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.

“Last year we could not host NCL for women cricketers but we are eyeing to relaunch it in Rajshahi from August,” Bashar told the Daily Sun on Saturday.

“Usually, NCL is played in 50-over format but this year we are eyeing to play it in T20 format as we want it (NCL) to be part of our preparation for the next ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” he said.

In the coming days, Bangladesh women’s team will be busy playing the Women’s Asia Cup.

The ninth edition of the Women’s Asia Cup will be played from 19 to 28 July in Sri Lanka in the T20 format.

The tournament offers the Asian teams a chance to experiment and fine-tune their squads ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.

Bangladesh were placed in Group B along with hosts Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia while Group A comprised India, Pakistan, Nepal and UAE.

The top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals on 26 July.

Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka on 20 July, followed by matches against Thailand and Malaysia respectively, on 22 and 24 July.

Meanwhile, Bashar added that they are eyeing to start longer-version cricket (three-day) for women cricketers named Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) after the T20 World Cup.

“We are eyeing to start BCL for women cricketers after the World Cup and it will be a three-day tournament played by four teams,” he concluded.