The Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced the launch of a new age-group competition titled the Rising Star Under-23 tournament, aimed at strengthening the country’s domestic talent pipeline.
The tournament will follow a structure similar to the Bangladesh Cricket League, featuring four regional teams: East Zone, Central Zone, South Zone and North Zone. It will be played in a double round-robin league format, with the top two teams progressing to the final.
In total, 31 matches will be played in the inaugural edition. The competition is designed to bridge the gap after the Under-23 level, an area where there has previously been no dedicated tournament.
BCB Media Committee chairman Amzad Hossain confirmed that the board is planning to stage the tournament in February. “We will organise the Rising Star Under-23 cricket tournament. It will be similar to the BCL. After Under-23 cricket there was no specific competition, but now there will be,” he said.
According to Amzad, matches will be held at two venues in Chattogram, with the final scheduled to take place in Dhaka. “These were some of our key decisions,” he added.
Alongside the new tournament, the BCB has also outlined an ambitious infrastructure drive for the coming year under a programme titled ‘100 Wickets in 2026’. As part of the plan, district leagues will be revitalised across the country.
“Last year leagues were held in only 12 districts. Our target for the new year is to organise leagues in at least 40 districts,” Amzad said. “We have launched a new theme, ‘100 Wickets in 2026’, to support that goal.”
