Dhaka: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will restart the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20 this year to produce more quality players for the shortest format of the game.

‘The T20 contest will take place after DPL’s regular 50-over tournament scheduled to start from March 1,’ Amir Khan, the coordinator of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), told the media on Thursday, reports the UNB.

Unlike most Test-playing nations, who have more than one local T20 leagues, Bangladesh has only one. Most of the local players, who are out of the national set-up, did not get a chance to play in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) alongside national and international stars.

Bangladesh has failed to produce quality T20 players in the last five years despite BPL’s success. The importance of having more than one T20 league was realised years ago but BCB did not take any effective step until this year.

‘Incumbent CCDM Chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed is confident about hosting DPL T20 regularly. We are working to set a schedule,’ Khan said.

Local players welcomed the announcement with excitement and optimism. Former national team pacer Mohammad Sharif said he was looking forward to the new T20 league with local players. The right-arm pacer had failed to draw the attention of any franchise in the last BPL.

‘It is good news for the players like me who do not get a chance in the BPL. Another T20 league will surely help Bangladesh’s cricket find new talents,’ Sharif told UNB while practicing at the National Cricket Academy.