Chattogram [Bangladesh], January 1 : The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) governing council has decided to drop Chattogram from hosting the remainder of the BPL 2025-26 tournament matches, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The decision came after they had to postpone the ongoing BPL for two days following the death of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who passed away on December 30 at the age of 80 while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital.
Sylhet will continue to host the remainder of the BPL matches till January 12. Dhaka will host three more match days, followed by the playoffs and the grand finale on January 23.
BPL member secretary Iftekhar Rahman spoke about the decision to move the remaining BPL matches from Chattogram. He said that the decision was taken after considering two factors.
"There was no gap in our fixtures," Iftekhar told ESPNcricinfo. "Moving from Sylhet to Chattogram, especially with the broadcast equipment needing the shifting between the two cities, will need at least two days. Given that we had to postpone the matches on Monday and Tuesday, we couldn't move to Chattogram.
"I know it is disappointing for Chattogram, but if we started the tournament in Chattogram, Sylhet would have missed out. Our other major concern was the BPL final date. We couldn't shift even one day as the Bangladesh team needs time to prepare for the T20 World Cup. So we had to take these factors into consideration," he added.
The ongoing BPL tournament has faced difficulties after the owner of Chattogram Royals relinquished the franchise the day before the tournament began on December 26.
Noakhali Express coach Khaled Mahmud then walked off the job after not being provided adequate practice facilities. Additionally, there was also an unfortunate on-field incident when the Dhaka Capitals assistant coach, Mahbub Ali Zaki, passed away just minutes before their match against the Rajshahi Warriors.
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