How BPL creates opportunities for a new generation of cricketers

The 2025/26 season final was broadcast on BPL live on January 23. The 25-year-old Tanzid Hasan emerged as the main hero: 100 runs off 62 balls, six fours and seven sixes. He became only the third batter in BPL history to score a century in the final, joining Tamim Iqbal and Chris Gayle.

In the match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, the Rajshahi Warriors defeated the Chattogram Royals by 63 runs, scoring 174/4 against their opponent’s 111. This is the franchise’s second title, following their 2019/20 triumph under their former name, the Rajshahi Royals.

In addition to Tanzid, other young players stood out during the 2025/26 season. At 23, Ripon Mondol earned the Emerging Player award and 300,000 taka. The 24-year-old Parvez Hossain Emon became the season’s top batter. Towhid Hridoy, the same age as Tanzid, moved from the middle order to an opener role and scored 382 runs. All of them came through youth cricket: Ripon played in the 2022 U19 World Cup; Tanzid, Emon and Hridoy won the 2020 U19 World Cup.

The league’s value

Bangladesh Premier League was launched in February 2012 and has remained the country’s flagship T20 competition ever since. Full stadiums, broadcasts, and sponsors give it significant commercial clout, which is evident in its prize fund: nearly 5 crore taka was distributed in the 2025/26 season, including 2.75 crore for the champions. For domestic cricket, however, its most vital role is bridging the gap between local tournaments and the national team. Here, young players play high-stakes matches in a fully professional environment, with crowds they would never see at the club level. For many, it’s a crucial pathway from youth cricket to the national team.

How the league builds a new generation

Ripon Mondol’s story is a prime example of how it works in practice. At the 2022 U19 World Cup, he took 14 wickets and earned a spot in the ICC team of the tournament. Next came the Dhaka Premier League and National Cricket League. In November 2022, the Rangpur Riders picked him in the draft, and he made his BPL debut in February 2023. Just a few months later, in October of that year, Ripon earned his national team jersey in a T20I against Malaysia. 

Tanzid Hasan started with the Uttara in the Dhaka Premier Division in 2019 and made his national team debut by 2023. Just over six months after his BPL final performance, he scored his maiden Test century against Australia, becoming the first Bangladeshi player to do so on Australian soil.

Parvez Hossain Emon first stepped onto the T20I stage against Zimbabwe in August 2022, and proved his consistency during the 2025/26 BPL season, racking up 395 runs at an average of 39.50 with three half-centuries.

Fast bowlers follow the same path. The 25-year-old Mrittunjoy Chowdhury debuted in the BPL in 2022 with a hat-trick. In the 2025/26 season, he scored a second, becoming the first player in the league’s history to claim two. 

Scouting for top talent starts at the youth level. Ahead of BPL 2025, franchises signed five U19 players who had recently won the U19 Asia Cup and impressed in the NCL T20. Youth captain Azizul Hakim and fast bowler Iqbal Hossain Emon were among them. At 17, all-rounder Azizul featured in four matches for the Rangpur Riders before leading the U19 team at the World Cup in January 2026. In their clash against Zimbabwe, he scored 59 runs while Iqbal Hossain claimed 5 wickets for 24 runs. 

The BPL also serves as a gateway to international leagues. The 24-year-old all-rounder Rishad Hossain played for the Comilla Victorians and Fortune Barishal in the BPL, and went on to compete for the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League during the 2025/26 season.

How players find their on-field role

The BPL T20 format demands tight specialization, for instance, as a powerplay batter, a death-overs bowler, or a finisher. Four-day cricket rarely develops these specific skill sets, but the league offers a real-match testing ground.

In the 2025/26 season, Hridoy moved up from the middle order to open the batting, launching his new role with an unbeaten 97 against Rajshahi, followed by 62 and 109 against the Dhaka Capitals and Noakhali Express. Analysts agreed he looked completely comfortable at the top of the order. Meanwhile, Ripon Mondol took on death-overs duties, using a string of clinical yorkers in the season’s opening week to help Rajshahi win the tournament’s first Super Over. Chattogram Royals captain Mahedi Hasan showcased his all-round capabilities: 15 wickets and 177 runs to lead his side to their first BPL final.

Preparation for these roles is built on data tracking of hitting zones and bowling spells. Cricket digitalization has already become an essential part of the sport.

Playing alongside world-class talent

Overseas stars and international coaches help players work on these specialized roles. In the final, Tanzid opened the batting alongside Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan, with the pair staying together for 10.2 overs. Tanzid then added another 47 runs with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who joined the Rajshahi for the playoffs. Sri Lanka’s Binura Fernando took 4 wickets for 9 runs, the best bowling figures in BPL finals history.

In the 2025/26 season, Hridoy played for the Rangpur Riders under South African coach Mickey Arthur, with England’s Dawid Malan batting in the middle order.

Pressure and recognition

Playing alongside experienced players helps young cricketers learn to handle pressure. Towhid Hridoy knows its cost firsthand: in the 2022 BPL final, Fortune Barishal lost by one run after he failed to score the three runs needed off the final ball. The setback became a major source of motivation. He adjusted his training and technique and, a year later, scored 403 runs in the season.

A strong BPL season also brings recognition. The 2025/26 final was played in the evening under the floodlights and broadcast live, creating a very different setting for a young player than a typical club tournament. Shoriful Islam took 26 wickets, setting a league record for a single season and surpassing Taskin Ahmed’s previous best of 25 wickets in 2024/25. He was named Player of the Tournament and Best Bowler, earning a combined 1.5 million taka in prize money.

How the league fits into the system 

The path to the BPL starts with the U15, U1, and U19 age-group teams and the High Performance Unit. Players then gain experience in the Dhaka Premier League, a 12-club List A competition. The NCL T20 showcases them to franchises ahead of the BPL draft.

The BCB launched the Game Development Trophy, a 50-over tournament for U17, U19, and U23, with the first match played on August 28. BCB president and former national team captain Tamim Iqbal explained the idea: if a U17 player takes three wickets or scores 50 runs against the U23 team, it builds his confidence and gives selectors a chance to see whether he is ready for the next level. The Game Development Trophy is planned as an annual competition. In the second match, the U19 team beat the U23 side by four runs, a major surprise in the tournament.

Where the system falls short

The first problem is money. Under league rules, franchises must provide the BCB with a bank guarantee and pay players half of their fees before the season starts, a quarter during the tournament, and the remainder afterward. In the 2024/25 season, only one franchise had provided the guarantee by the tournament midpoint. When Durbar Rajshahi’s overseas players refused to play a match over unpaid fees, the World Cricketers’ Association described the BPL as a repeat offender for late payments. 

Scheduling is another challenge. The BPL overlaps with the Big Bash, ILT20, and SA20, while the league’s reputation for instability also keeps many T20 stars from coming to Bangladesh. Experts also see an upside: the available spots go to players without international experience, giving them a chance to emerge as breakout performers. 

On August 20, Tamim Iqbal announced that the BPL would not return in 2026/27. The BCB lost around 40 crore taka over the past two seasons, while some franchises failed to follow the rules. The league will be held, but the board doesn’t want to rush, even if the process takes six or twelve months. At the same time, the BCB president described it as a great product whose appeal could grow with proper organization. 

In late August, Tamim met with representatives of the Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Capitals, and Rajshahi Warriors. The clubs agreed to wait a year if the reforms are completed and asked for a five-year calendar to recruit top overseas players well in advance.

D3 kicks off in December

On September 27, the BCB unveiled D3, a new franchise competition for the 2026/27 season. It will feature six teams, each with a three-year agreement with the board. The tournament combines the NCL’s T20 component with both formats of the Bangladesh Cricket League: four-day and 50-over cricket.

The 19-match T20 stage is scheduled to begin in Barishal on December 15. Four-day matches will follow in January, with the 16-match 50-over competition starting in May. D3 features 42 matches in total, with each team playing between 12 and 17. Clubs will select their players on October 26, although Tamim has not yet specified whether the process will be a draft or an auction. Each team should have a 23-player squad across the three formats. The BCB retains control over spending and salary limits. 

The leading players were allocated to clubs through a draw: Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan, and Mohammad Naim. Tamim explained the initial selections: clubs need players available throughout the season, not those leaving for international duty. He cited Mohammad Naim as an example, as he does not play for the national team and is therefore more likely to be available for all three formats. For young players, D3 offers a chance to play regularly for the same team across three formats from December through May, compared with the BPL, which lasted only a few weeks. 

Tamim linked the launch of D3 to declining interest in domestic cricket and said the goal was to bring some color back to the domestic game. 

Looking ahead

The national league needs a healthy league: Bangladesh’s T20 ambitions depend on squad depth, and it comes from young players getting playing time and meaningful roles. If established names dominate the lineups, the next generation will be left on the bench. While the league is being restructured, domestic competitions such as D3 and the NCL remain where new stars emerge. MelBet Bangladesh makes it easy to follow the tournaments live, with the platform available in more than 45 languages, including Bengali.

League rules are already encouraging clubs to invest in local players. At the auction ahead of the 2025/26 season, clubs were required to buy between 12 and 14 local players, including at least four from categories E and F. Shamsur Rahman Shuvo voluntarily withdrew to make room for younger athletes. 

The reform also has an international dimension. On July 15, the ICC appointed Tamim Iqbal chairman of its new franchise leagues committee. It focuses on the sustainability of such competitions, their impact on the international calendar, and player welfare, while also working on the World Club T20 project for their champions. Tamim has said that if franchise cricket is not working in his own country, stopping and rebuilding it would send a strong message to the committee.

There is also the possibility of bringing in an overseas franchise if it would help build confidence in the tournament, although the board would first need to revise the rules. Work with the franchises is expected to be completed by April or May 2027. The board plans to bring back the BPL only once the BCB becomes profitable. Defending champions Rajshahi Warriors have supported the reform and hope the BPL can become one of the world’s leading leagues. If the financial model works, it can return stronger, while continuing to provide the national team with players ready for international cricket.

While BPL is on hold

The BPL will not be held in the 2026/27 season, but domestic cricket continues. The Game Development Trophy ended with the U19 team taking the title; the NCL season awaits fans in October, and the T20 stage of D3 begins on December 15. These tournaments are more interesting to follow when you understand the factors that influence cricket match outcomes: pitch, weather, player form, powerplay tactics, and the captain’s decisions in the death overs. Young players are competing for the selectors’ attention, and D3 will show who makes the 23-player squads, how many matches they play, and what roles they are given.

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Tanzid, Ripon, Emon, and Hridoy have already progressed from youth cricket to the national team, with the BPL serving as one step along the way.  While the league is being restructured, the next generation is developing through domestic competitions, including D3 and the NCL. When the BPL returns in its revamped form, it will have a new generation of players to build on. 

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