The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the schedule for the T20 leg of the Domestic Three (D3) Trophy, with Barishal set to stage the opening match on December 15 and the final on December 31. Both games start at 2:45pm.
Barishal will host 12 of the 19 matches at the Kabi Jibanananda Das Stadium, including all four playoff games, while the other seven will be played at the Sher e Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Acme and Fortune will open the tournament.
Six teams, Acme, Fortune, Walton, Seven Rings Cement, Citizen Bank and Blue Star, will play 19 matches over 12 days. Seven of those days have multiple games, starting at 11am and 2:45pm, and the league stage runs until December 25.
On December 16, Walton face Seven Rings Cement in Mirpur at 11am, before Acme meet Citizen Bank in Barishal at 2:45pm. Each team plays the other five once in a round robin, and after 15 matches the top four reach the playoffs.
The playoffs begin on December 27 with the Eliminator at 11am, pitting the third and fourth placed teams against each other. The top two meet in the first Qualifier at 3:30pm, the only afternoon start that departs from the usual 2:45pm slot.
The second Qualifier, at 2:45pm, sees the first Qualifier’s losing side meet the Eliminator winner. The victor joins the first Qualifier winner in the final in Barishal on December 31, with January 1, 2027 held as the reserve day if needed.
The six teams have picked icon players by lottery: Nurul Hasan Sohan for Blue Star, Mehidy Hasan Miraz for Walton, Mushfiqur Rahim for Seven Rings Cement, Mosaddek Hossain for Acme, Towhid Hridoy for Fortune and Mohammad Naim Sheikh for Citizen Bank.
For the first time, teams also formed their management groups, including head and assistant coaches, through a management draft. BCB president Tamim Iqbal had said when launching the D3 Trophy that the T20 competition would begin in Barishal on December 15.
The players’ auction takes place on Monday, October 26, where teams will build 23 member squads. No money changes hands: more than 250 cricketers sit in five categories with fixed points, and each team has a points limit to bid within.
Because match fees for first class, List A and T20 cricket are already set, players receive nothing extra for the D3 Trophy, so monetary bidding was ruled out. Indian commentator and presenter Charu Sharma will conduct the auction, after past complaints about BPL auctions.