The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has introduced a comprehensive six-team franchise structure that unites first-class, List A, and T20 cricket under a single competitive banner beginning in the 2026–27 season. Named Domestic 3 (D3), the revamped competition merges the Bangladesh Cricket League’s first-class and List A tournaments with the National Cricket League’s T20 contest into one cohesive tournament cycle.
The competition is scheduled to begin with the T20 tournament on December 15, followed by the first-class campaign in January and the one-day tournament in May. The BCB has secured three-year commitments from six franchise ownership groups: Walton, Acme Laboratories, ACE Blue Star, Citizens Bank, Seven Rings Cement, and Fortune Group. Each franchise owner is set to invest BDT 2.5 crore per season, a figure that includes player match fees.
Key Developments
- Leadership and Vision: BCB President Tamim Iqbal announced that the unified structure is designed to revitalize and stimulate domestic cricket engagement across Bangladesh.
- Draft Protocols: The board will conduct a team management draft later this week, allowing franchises to bid for coaches, followed by a player draft next month where each team will select 23 cricketers across the three formats.
- Icon Player Allocations: Six marquee icon players have been assigned to the franchises, featuring Mehidy Hasan Miraz for Walton, Towhid Hridoy for Fortune Group, Mosaddek Hossain for Acme Laboratories, Mushfiqur Rahim for Seven Rings Cement, Nurul Hasan for ACE Blue Star, and Mohammad Naim for Citizens Bank.
- Broader Season Calendar: Bangladesh’s domestic calendar opens on October 3 with the traditional region-based National Cricket League first-class tournament, which features the country’s eight regional divisions.
By securing dedicated commercial backers and distributing top national talents across all three formats, the BCB aims to establish an integrated domestic pathway that bridges the gap between regional performance and elite cricket.