Cricket is the most popular dry season sport in Bangladesh. It is played nationwide through the months of November to May. Governance of the sport is the responsibility of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which was established in 1972. Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Asian Cricket Council. Full ICC membership was achieved in 2000 and the Bangladesh men's team played its inaugural Test match that year. The national team is known as the "Tigers" – after the Royal Bengal Tiger. The women's national team has played top-level international cricket since 2014.
Bangladesh has three nationwide domestic competitions. The most lucrative is the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 tournament played in January and February which attracts international players from other countries. There are two first-class championships: the National Cricket League, played by teams representing the country's administrative divisions; and the Bangladesh Cricket League, played by zonal teams.
History
Cricket was introduced to Bengal by the British in the eighteenth century. Following Partition and the creation of East Pakistan, both first-class and Test cricket were played there during the 1950s and 1960s. The sport continued to be popular after independence, especially in Dhaka, but the country lost first-class status and had to establish itself in international competition as an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Progress was made in the 1990s. The Bangladesh men's team won the 1997 ICC Trophy and made a good showing at the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Beginning in 1994, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in preparation for full membership of the ICC, began instituting multi-day matches in domestic tournaments starting with the 1993-94 National Cricket Championship (with the semi-finals and final being two-day matches each of a single innings per team 60 and 80 overs respectively) and then continuing again (after a return to the traditional one day formats in 1995 and 1996) for the 1997, 1998/99 and 1999 National Cricket Championships with teams playing multiple innings over 3 days for the semi-finals and 4 days for the final. Also only for the 1998/99 season of Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League the BCB introduced two-day matches of 80 overs per side. In the 1999–2000 season, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in the final push for full membership, created the National Cricket League (NCL). In November 2000, Bangladesh played their inaugural Test match against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. The NCL was granted first-class status ahead of the 2000–01 season.
Administration
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is the principal national governing body of cricket in Bangladesh.It became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1977, and a full member on 26 June 2000. BCB has three teams which represent Bangladesh in international cricket, which are the Bangladesh men's national cricket team, Bangladesh women's national cricket team and Bangladesh under-19 cricket team.
The board's headquarters are located at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
National teams The Bangladesh national cricket team is governed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and is a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Since 1977, the BCB has been affiliated with ICC, the international governing body for world cricket. In 1983, the BCB became one of the founding members of the ACC.
Performance The following list includes the performance of all of Bangladesh's national teams at major competitions.
Men's senior team
TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 0 out of 13 2023 ICC Men's T20 World Cup 0 out of 9 2024 ICC Champions Trophy 0 out of 8 2017 ICC World Test Championship 0 out of 3 2023–25 Asia Cup 3 out of 16 2023 Commonwealth Games 0 out of 1 1998 Asian Games 1 out of 3 2022
Women's senior team
TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 0 out of 12 2017 ICC Women's T20 World Cup 0 out of 9 2024 Women's Asia Cup 1 out of 9 2024 Commonwealth Games 0 out of 1 2022 Asian Games 2 out of 3 2022
Men A team
TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 1 out of 6 2024
Women's A team TournamentFinalsappearance Lastappearance Bestperformance ACC Women's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 1 out of 1 2023
Men's U-19 team
TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 1 out of 15 2024 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup 3 out of 11 2024
Women's U-19 team
TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup 0 out of 1 2023 Under-19 Women's T20 Asia Cup 1 out of 1 2024
Organisation of cricket in modern Bangladesh
International cricket International cricket in Bangladesh generally does not follow a fixed pattern. For example, the English schedule under which the nation tours other countries during the winter and plays at home during the summer. Cricket in Bangladesh is managed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Men's National Team
The Bangladesh National Cricket Team represents Bangladesh in international cricket matches.
Bangladesh have been participating in international cricket since 1986 and competed in international tournament since 1999 Cricket World Cup. They have competed in numerous tournaments over the years including the ACC tournaments. The Bangladesh national cricket team has also provided some of the greatest players to the world, the biggest example of which is Shakib Al Hasan. The Bangladesh men's national team is currently ranked No. 9 in Tests, No. 9 in ODIs and at 9th position in T20Is.
Test International- After becoming a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000, Bangladesh played their first Test match that year against India in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test cricket playing nation. They also take part in officially sanctioned Asian Test Championship.
One Day International- Bangladesh played their first ODI International in 1986 against Pakistan. They were not able to participate in first edition of Cricket World Cup. But in late 19s they have reached to ODI world cup consequently and in 2015 Cricket World Cup they reached quarter-finals.
T20 International- Bangladesh played their first T20 International in 2006 against Zimbabwe. Bangladesh have made great impact in T20 international from their early day of this format. They have been playing ICC Men's T20 World Cup from first Edition, except the 2026 edition because of boycott.
Women's National Team
Bangladesh has an active women's team which gained One Day International status after finishing 5th at the 2011 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The women's team also claimed the silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games cricket tournament and won the 2018 Women's Asia Cup.The Bangladesh Women's national team is also currently ranked No. 7 in ODIs and at 9th position in T20Is.
One Day International- Bangladesh played their first ODI International in 2011 against Ireland. They were not able to participate in first edition of Women's Cricket World Cup. But in latest 2022 edition they have been able to participate.
T20 International-Bangladesh played their first T20 International in 2012 against Ireland. Bangladesh Women's have made great impact in T20 international from their early day of this format. They have been participating in ICC Women's T20 World Cup from third edition consequently.
Domestic Cricket
Men's Domestic Cricket
First class competitions
National Cricket League - Soon after the establishment of the BCB, a cricket league commenced in Dhaka and Chittagong at district (regional) level. It became a national tournament in 1974–75. Other tournaments were organised at school, college, youth and university levels.The National Cricket League was founded in the 1999–2000 season ahead of Bangladesh being promoted to full membership of the ICC. It became a first-class competition in 2000–01. It involves eight teams, seven representing administrative divisions and one from the Dhaka Metropolis. There are eight administrative divisions but Mymensingh is not represented. Since the 2015–16 season, the league has been split into two tiers with promotion and relegation. In the 2022–23 tournament, won by Rangpur Division, the structure was as follows:
Bangladesh Cricket League - A second first-class tournament, the Bangladesh Cricket League, was launched in 2012. This has a similar concept to India's Duleep Trophy as the contestants are zonal teams: Central, South, East and North Zones. The most successful team has been South Zone with five league titles between 2014 and 2020.
Limited overs competitions Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League
Twenty20 competitions Bangladesh Premier League Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League
Women's Domestic Cricket
First class competitions Bangladesh Women's Cricket League
Limited overs competitions Bangladesh Women's National Cricket League
Stadiums
Active Stadiums Stadium City First-class side(s) Capacity First used Ends RefSher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumDhakaDhaka Division (2006-present)26,0008 December 2006• AKS End• Shah Cements End Retrieved on 29 July 2010.Bir Shrestho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket StadiumChattogramChattogram Division (2005–present)22,00026 February 2006 • Walton End • Isphani End Retrieved on 29 July 2010.Sylhet International Cricket StadiumSylhetSylhet Division (2000–present)18,500 17 March 2014 • UCB End• Runner End
International competitions hosted CompetitionEditionWinnerFinalRunners-upBangladesh's positionVenuesFinal venueStadiumMen's senior competitionsAsia Cup1988 Asia CupGroup Stage2 (in 2 cities)Bangabandhu National StadiumACC Under-19 Asia Cup1989 Asia Youth CupDid not participate2 (in 2 cities)Bangabandhu National StadiumICC Champions Trophy1998 ICC KnockOut TrophyNot eligible1 (in 1 city)Bangabandhu National StadiumAsia Cup2000 Asia CupGroup Stage1 (in 1 city)Bangabandhu National StadiumUnder-19 Men's Cricket World Cup2004 Under-19 Cricket World CupGroup Stage1 (in 1 city)Bangabandhu National StadiumICC Men's Cricket World Cup2011 Cricket World CupGroup Stage13 (in 3 countries)Wankhede StadiumAsia Cup2012 Asia CupRunners-up1 (in 1 city)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumAsia Cup2014 Asia CupGroup Stage2 (in 2 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumICC Men's T20 World Cup2014 World Twenty20Round 23 (in 3 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumUnder-19 Men's Cricket World Cup2016 Under-19 Cricket World CupSemi-finals7 (in 6 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumAsia Cup2016 Asia CupRunners-up1 (in 1 city)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup2017 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup Sri Lanka A Pakistan ASemi-finals3 (in 3 cities)Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury StadiumACC Under-19 Asia Cup2018 ACC Under-19 Asia CupSemi-finals4 (in 3 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup Pakistan A Bangladesh ARunners-up3 (in 3 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumWomen's senior competitionsWomen's T20 World Cup2014 Women's World Twenty20Group Stage2 (in 2 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumWomen's Cricket World Cup Qualifier2011 Women's Cricket World Cup QualifierQuarter-finals3 (in 3 cities)Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket StadiumWomen's Asia Cup2022 Women's Twenty20 Asia CupGroup Stage1 (in 1 city)Sylhet International Cricket Stadium
Performance in international competitions A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Bangladesh +Key Champions Runners-up Semi-finals
Men's team
ICC World Test Championship