Bangladesh cricketers end boycott, BPL expected to resume with immediate effect

Bangladesh’s cricketers have ended their boycott after talks with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). The decision was taken during a late-night meeting on Thursday (Jan 15), allowing the scheduled Bangladesh Premier League matches to go ahead on Friday.

According to the prominent sports site ESPNcricinfo, speaking at a press conference held at the BCB office around 11:45 pm, CWAB president Mohammad Mithun 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."

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

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

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Earlier on Thursday, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh had released a statement demanding Nazmul’s suspension as a condition for talks. In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board removed him from his role as chairman of the finance committee.

However, Nazmul continues to be a BCB director while the board carries out a review into the matter. Despite all this, the cricketers ultimately reversed their decision to boycott and agreed to resume playing.

With inputs from agencies