Women's NCL expands 'to bring balance’

The Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) is set to begin on October 28 at Cox’s Bazar International Cricket Stadium, with the player auction slated for September 26. To be held in the T20 format for the seventh season, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has expanded player participation in the competition from 120 to over 160.

To address squad imbalances -- following last season's complaints when Sylhet Division featured no local players -- the BCB is introducing a selection draft.

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"We are holding the auction on the 26th. Actually, we are calling it a qualifying process or player selection process," a BCB women's wing official said on Monday.

"Since some divisions have many players while others don't, we're holding this to bring balance. We'll have two icon players per division like last season. The 16 icons and divisional representatives will sit at tables to select batters and bowlers in turns through a lottery."

Draft lists prioritizing past NCL, Premier Division, and BCB Women’s Cup performers have been sent to divisions so they can identify any missing talent.

Addressing representation concerns, the official added: "A division becoming champion is a matter of pride, but we must consider balance. If players only represent their own divisions, many good players won't get to play. We want a competitive tournament where players perform and get noticed."

Unlike last year’s rushed 10-day schedule, the 28-game tournament will run over 18 to 19 days, giving each team seven round-robin matches and better preparation time.