The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is set to move matches of its proposed new domestic tournament away from Khulna after work at the Khulna Divisional Stadium failed to progress in time. The venue had been considered for part of the group stage, but the delay has now put an end to those plans for the upcoming edition.
The tournament, provisionally expected to be called Bangladesh First, was initially planned to feature group-stage matches at both the Khulna Divisional Stadium and the Jibanananda Das Cricket Stadium in Barishal. The semi-finals and final could be staged in Sylhet, although the overall schedule and venues have yet to be confirmed.
According to sources associated with the tournament committee, Khulna will no longer host matches in the competition. The primary reason is that the necessary work at the stadium is unlikely to be completed within the required timeframe. As a result, the matches originally earmarked for Khulna could be shifted to the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
The tournament is tentatively being considered for late December or early January. However, no final dates have been announced, meaning both the schedule and venue arrangements remain subject to change.
The development is another setback for Khulna, which has long been an important cricketing centre in Bangladesh but has seen its role in major competitions diminish over recent years. The Khulna Divisional Stadium is the principal cricket venue in the southern region and has hosted international matches in the past. Yet the ground has not staged an international fixture since January 2016.
That last international appearance came during Bangladesh’s four-match Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe. The two sides shared the series 2-2. Since then, Khulna has continued to host National Cricket League matches, particularly the traditional four-day fixtures, but opportunities to stage other major national competitions have been limited.
The venue did have a significant international-age-group assignment in July 2023, when Bangladesh Under-19 faced South Africa Under-19 in a three-match one-day series. Since that series, however, the stadium has largely remained associated with four-day National Cricket League matches.
The proposed new tournament had therefore offered Khulna an opportunity to return to the wider domestic cricket calendar. Hosting group-stage matches would have brought competitive limited-overs cricket back to the venue and provided another platform for players and supporters in the region.
For the BCB, the immediate priority will now be to finalise alternative venues without disrupting the tournament schedule. Mirpur appears to be one possible solution for the matches that were intended for Khulna, while Barishal remains part of the original planning.
With the tournament still in the planning stage, the final list of venues, match dates and competition structure is expected to become clearer once the board completes its preparations. For Khulna, however, the latest development means another opportunity to host a major domestic tournament has slipped away, at least for the upcoming edition.
