Mymensingh Division will play in the National Cricket League (NCL) for the first time this season, replacing Dhaka Metro in the competition’s four-day format.
Recognised as a division in 2015, Mymensingh had repeatedly sought inclusion in the NCL but were denied by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Recently, the division even warned they would take legal action if overlooked again. The breakthrough came under Aminul Islam Bulbul’s board, which granted them approval in line with BCB regulations requiring all recognised divisions to be accommodated in the league.
The change means Dhaka Metro, introduced in 2011 to even out the number of teams after Rangpur became a new division, will now make way. “As you know, Mymensingh has become a division, and according to the constitution we must accommodate them and arrange for them to play,” said Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, chairman of the BCB’s Media and Umpires Committees.
Mymensingh will debut in the NCL’s longer format this year, but they will not feature in the NCL T20 tournament starting on 14 or 15 September, as the schedule and squads are already finalised. Dhaka Metro will therefore compete in the T20 competition this year, but from 2026 Mymensingh will take their place in both formats.
Nazmul Abedin Fahim, explaining the decision to remove Dhaka Metro, said: “The reason Metro was included was in 2011, when the number of divisions went from six to seven. Dhaka Metro was created to make the count even. Now, with Mymensingh in, the same number can be maintained.”
In other BCB developments, Australian curator Tony Hemming has been appointed head of turf management for the next two years. The board has also recruited Alex Marshall, former general manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, to lead its own anti-corruption efforts. Marshall, who previously served as head of the UK’s College of Policing, joined the ICC in 2017 after a long career in the police.