BPL T-20 tournament opens

FE Team | Published: February 10, 2012 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

President Zillur Rahman declared the much-awaited Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T-20 cricket open amidst spectacular showcase Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, reports BSS.
In his speech, President Zillur Rahman said he hopes Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would be able
to uphold and strengthen the position of Bangladesh in the cricket world through organising Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T-20 successfully.
President Rahman said Bangladesh was appreciated widely in the cricket world as one of the successful host countries of the ICC World Cup last year. "It has brightened the image of Bangladesh in the international arena," he said.
He expressed his believe that BPL T-20 will leave a positive impression about Bangladesh cricket in the world arena.
The president said the BPL T-20 has already been able to attract cricket fans both from home and abroad. Now, the cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see the beauty, thrill and professionalism of T-20, he added.
"Whoever win or lose in this meet, we must remember that it is cricket," the president observed.
The president congratulated all the organisers, teams, players, coach and sponsors who are part of BPL T-20.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and State Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarker and Chairman of BPL organising committee Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu also spoke on the occasion.
However, the tournament will kick off on February 10 (Friday) with Barisal Burners taking on Sylhet Royals at 2:00 pm while Chittagong Kings meets with Duronto Rajshahi at 6:30pm.
The BPL tournament committee has already completed their ground work to arrange the biggest domestic extravaganza of the country.
The silver screen stars and singers from India and Bangladesh performed in the opening ceremony. There was also a segment dedicated to the International Mother Language Day. The culture and history of freedom fighting of Bangladesh was also displayed in the inaugural show.
Actresses Bipasha Basu, Malaika Arora Khan, Ritu Parna Sengupta from India while Shamim Ara Nipa and Shibli Mohammad, Shakib Khan and Apu Bishwas were present to add colour and glamour in the opening ceremony.
Indian singers Bappi Lahiri, Shaan and local singers Ayub Bacchu, Kumar Biswajit and Mila, and popular band Miles enthralled the crowd.
Spectacular fireworks drew applause from the local fans.
The first edition of the competition involving six franchises - Barisal Burners, Chittagong Kings, Dhaka Gladiators, Khulna Royal Bengals, Duronto Rajshahi and Sylhet Royals -will be held at SBNCS in Mirpur, Dhaka and Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong.
The competition will start with a double round robin group stage in which each of the six teams will play against one other team twice. These matches will be followed by two semi-finals and a final.
The final is slated for February 9 in Dhaka.
Of the total 33 matches, 25 will be played in Dhaka and eight in Chittagong.