Bangladesh cricketers end boycott, BPL 2025-26 to resume after BCB-CWAB talks

Dhaka, Jan 16: Bangladesh's cricketers are set to return to the field for the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2025-26 season after a day of boycott following Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Nazmul Islam's controversial remarks.

After a tripartite meeting between the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) and the BCB, the current situation has been resolved. From Friday, the cricketers will be back on the field, and as a result, there have been some slight changes to the BPL schedule.

On Wednesday, days after calling ex Bangladesh captain Tamil Iqbal an "Indian agent" for suggesting dialogue between two cricketing nations to resolve the T20 World Cup deadlock after release of pacer Mustafizur Rahman by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from IPL 2026 on instruction of BCCI in light of atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh, Nazmul added to his controversial remarks by suggesting that BCB does not owe the team any compensation if the players miss T20 World Cup and pointed to their not winning major trophies.

In response, the players decided to boycott all forms of cricket. They demanded that Nazmul be removed from the BCB. The BCB questioned him about the remarks and relieved him of his duties as head of the finance committee. However, he did not step down from his position as BCB's director. Despite all this, the cricketers ultimately reversed their decision to boycott and agreed to resume playing.

The BPL 2026 matches scheduled for January 15, 2026 (Chattogram Royals vs Noakhali Express and Rajshahi Warriors vs Sylhet Titans), will now be played on Friday, January 16. The matches originally scheduled for January 16 and 17 will be shifted by a day and will be held on January 17 and 18, respectively.

The Eliminator and Qualifier 1, scheduled to be held on January 19, have been shifted to January 20.