The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been forced to reschedule matches of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2026 after a player-led boycott brought the country’s flagship T20 tournament to a halt. Several matches scheduled for Thursday were abandoned when players refused to take the field, protesting against controversial remarks made by senior board official M. Nazmul Islam.

The crisis erupted after Nazmul Islam, then Chairman of the BCB’s Finance Committee and a Board Director, made remarks that angered players across the domestic circuit. His comments, including labeling former Bangladesh Captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian agent” and questioning players’ entitlement to compensation despite international commitments, sparked widespread outrage within the cricketing community.

Led by the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), senior national players initiated an immediate boycott of BPL matches. The protest had an instant impact at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, where teams scheduled to play on Thursday failed to arrive for the toss, forcing the BCB into an emergency response to prevent further disruption to the tournament.

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In an effort to stabilize the situation, the BCB announced that Nazmul Islam had been relieved of his responsibilities as chairman of the Finance Committee. The board subsequently issued a revised BPL schedule, shifting matches originally set for January 15–19 to January 16–20. Under the updated fixture list, league matches have been pushed back by a day, while the Eliminator and Qualifier 1 have been rescheduled to January 20.

Despite the announcement, players remain dissatisfied with the board’s actions. CWAB and senior cricketers have reiterated their demand for a public apology from Nazmul Islam and his complete removal from the BCB. While the revised schedule allows the tournament to continue, uncertainty persists as players await further steps from the board to fully resolve the standoff and restore normalcy to Bangladesh’s premier T20 competition.

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