SPORTS REPORTER

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday announced revised fixtures for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), cancelling the Chattogram phase completely while extending the Sylhet phase till January 12.

Previously, the ongoing Sylhet phase was set to end on January 2 and the Chattogram phase was supposed to run from January 5 - 12.

After the change in schedule, the tournament will move to Dhaka after the Sylhet phase with matches starting on January 15.

Matches which were scheduled for December 30 but were suspended following the demise of former prime minister Khaleda Zia have been rescheduled for January 4.

BPL member secretary Iftekhar Rahman Mithu informed that along with logistical challenges of moving the tournament to Chattogram, the national team’s departure for the ICC T20 World Cup was also a reason behind the changes.

“The Bangladesh team are set to depart on 26th and we need to give the national team some time with the coaches before they depart,” he told The Daily Star.

While the matchdays remain the same, fresh match schedules have been announced in the revised fixture. Sylhet Titans will now play nine of their 10 league phase matches in Sylhet while Chattogram Royals will have to play their last three league matches in Dhaka at a stretch. The corresponding matchdays for qualifiers and the eliminator also remained unchanged alongside the final which is slated for January 23.