NCL to include foreign players

Teams in the National Cricket League, Bangladesh's domestic first-class competition, will be allowed to sign foreign players for the 2011-12 season, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has said. Each team will be allowed to register up to three overseas players but can field only one in each game.

The NCL 2011-12 will be an eight-team event with the inclusion of Rangpur Division and Dhaka Metropolis to the existing pool of teams: Dhaka Division, Rajshahi Division, Sylhet Division, Barisal Division, Khulna Division and Chittagong Division. It will follow the same format as the previous edition, with matches held at neutral venues. The competition consists of two phases, with the teams playing each other once in the first phase and the top four going through to a second round-robin stage before the final. The first match of this year's tournament will start on October 17.

The national selectors will select the Dhaka Division and Dhaka Metropolis teams, while the other divisional teams will be selected by divisional coaches. There will be 32 icon players named by the national selectors from among those who have represented the national team or Bangladesh A team. Each team can have a maximum of four icon players. It is mandatory for BCB contracted cricketers to appear in the NCL if they do not have international commitments.