Bangladesh players call off boycott; BPL resumes

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Last updated on: January 16, 2026 15:03 IST

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The Bangladesh players want Nazmul Islam to be ousted as Bangladesh Cricket Board's director along with apology from him.

Bangladesh

IMAGE: The Bangladesh Premier League and Dhaka Cricket League matches scheduled for Thursday did not take place because of players' boycott. Photograph: Bangladesh Premier League/Instagram

Bangladesh's aggrieved cricketers called off their boycott "in the greater interest of the game" after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players' welfare association arrived at a consensus, leading to the resumption of the scheduled BPL T20 matches on Friday.

The BCB on Thursday stared at the prospect of its flagship T20 league coming to a halt after senior national players revolted against director Najmul Islam for his disparaging comments against them.

The BCB went on damage control mode and removed Najmul as head of its finance committee, a move that may have helped bring the situation under control for the time being.

Bangladesh's Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) president Mohammad Mithun said they had to "compromise on some things" for the sake of the players.

Mithun, who was flanked by BCB director Iftekhar Rahman at a press conference at the board premises late on Thursday night, said, "Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow (on Friday).

"They (the BCB) have assured us that they will reach out to him (BCB director M Nazmul Islam) and fulfil our demands as early as possible."

The two BPL matches which were abandoned on Thursday -- Chattogram Royals vs Noakhali Express and Rajshahi Warriors vs Sylhet Titans in Dhaka -- will now be played on Friday.

The match between Chattogram Royals and Noakhali Express restarted the T20 league.

Bangladesh continue stand over India

Earlier on Thursday, despite the removal of Najmul from the key BCB post, two matches of the BPL scheduled on the day were postponed.

The furore started after Najmul, while reiterating Bangladesh's refusal to travel to India for next month's T20 World Cup on account of "security worries", rejected concerns surrounding players' remuneration should the country withdraw.

He stated that the players would not be compensated as they have not justified the support so far, having failed to win a single ICC event.

The comments caused an outrage with CWAB calling for his immediate ouster from BCB.

Bangladesh are refusing to tour India, citing security concerns after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the IPL on BCCI's instructions for unspecified "developments all around".

 

The BCB is still in talks with the ICC to figure a way out after the world body showed reluctance to shift Bangladesh's four games in India to Sri Lanka.

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