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The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2026 is set to resume on Friday after the nationwide cricket boycott was officially called off following a late-night agreement between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB).
The standoff, which brought all cricketing activity in the country to a halt on Thursday, ended after the BCB met the primary demand of the players by removing M Najmul Islam from his position as chairman of the board’s finance committee.
As a result, Thursday’s postponed BPL matches will be played on Friday, with Chattogram Royals taking on Noakhali Express in the first match of the day, followed by Rajshahi Warriors facing Sylhet Titans later in the evening.
Notably, this situation has moved every match one day ahead, which means Friday’s matches will be moved to Saturday, and the group stage will now conclude on Sunday.
For context, two BPL matches and four Dhaka Cricket League games were abandoned on Thursday after teams refused to turn up for the toss, acting on CWAB’s call for a nationwide boycott.
The protest was sparked by remarks made by Najmul Islam, which players deemed disrespectful and humiliating.
Earlier in the day, CWAB had made Najmul’s removal a non-negotiable condition for any dialogue with the board.
The BCB responded by stripping him of the finance committee chairmanship, although he remains a board director pending the outcome of an internal inquiry.
While the players welcomed the board’s move, discussions are still ongoing over CWAB’s demand for a public apology from Najmul, a point on which differences remain between the players’ body and BCB president Aminul Islam.
Speaking at a late-night press conference at the BCB headquarters, CWAB president Mohammad Mithun confirmed the decision to end the boycott, stressing that the choice was made in the broader interest of the game.
“Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow (Friday). The BCB has assured us that they will reach out to him and fulfil our demands as early as possible,” Mithun said, referring to Najmul Islam.
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