Another season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is waiting to start in the new year, and fans are already buzzing with excitement. The ninth edition of this franchise-based T20 tournament will kick off on January 6, with the match between Chittagong Challengers and Sylhet Strikers.

This year’s tournament is sure to be a thrilling spectacle, with some of the biggest names in cricket set to take the field. The BPL has always been known for its star-studded line-ups, and this year is no exception. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the complete schedule of the 2023 BPL on Saturday. This article will cover the BPL 2023 event's complete schedule, key players for each BPL team, and venues.

Read More: BPL 2023: Ticket prices for first phase revealed

BPL 2023 at a Glance

Opening Match: January 6, 2023.

Final Match: February 16, 2023

Duration: 42 days

Cricket Format: T20

Tournament Format: Double round-robin and playoffs

Number of Teams: 7

Total Match: 46

Venues: Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet.

Read More: BPL 2023: Salahuddin laments lack of DRS

BPL 2023: Complete Schedule

Table: Schedule of BPL 2023

Read More: BPL 2023: All Teams Squad, Captain, Players List details

A total of 46 matches will be played in the 42-day cricket festival of seven teams. The matches will take place in three venues in  Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet.. Two matches, one during the day and one during the night, will be played each day until the eliminator.As usual, this year’s BPL will start with the Dhaka phase.

In week days the the first match of the day will begin at 2 PM. The second match will be played at 7 PM in the evening. However, taking into account the audience on Friday, the BCB has slightly delayed the start time of the match. Friday’s matches will start at 2.30 PM. The evenging games will also start a bit later on this day of the week; instead of 7 PM, those matches will be played at 7:15 PM.

BPL 2023 will start with the match between Chittagong Challengers and Sylhet Strikers at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at 2:30 PM on January 6. Like the beginning, the Dhaka phase will also end with the Sylhet match, and the BPL will move to Chittagong after their match against Dhaka Dominators on the night of January 10.

Read More: 7 local cricketers get direct contracts in 2023 BPL

In the first match of the Chittagong phase, Fortune Barisal will fight against the hosts on January 13. The match will start at 2:30 PM. Barisal will also play the last match of this phase against Dhaka on the night of January 20. After that, BPL will return to Dhaka again.

After the four matches on January 23 and 24, the Sylhet phase will commence, with hosts Sylhet battling Rangpur Riders in the first match of the day on January 27. This phase will end with the match between Comilla Victorians and Khulna Tigers on January 31.

The Dhaka phase will start again with the match between Barisal and Khulna on February 3. All the remaining matches till the final will be held in Mirpur. The eliminator games will take place on February 12 at 2 PM, with the first qualifier for it beginning at 7 PM on the same day. The second qualifier will occur on February 14.

Read More: BPL: From “world’s second-best” to “best domestic” league

The second qualifier for the 2023 BPL will be held on February 14, with the final two days later on February 16. One reserve day will be each for the eliminator, qualifier, and final matches.

How to Watch BPL 2023 Live?

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023 will be broadcast live on T-Sports and GTV. On these two channels from Bangladesh, enjoy the live game. If you are outside the country, you can watch BPL live on the following channels. Also, BPL can be watched from all over the world on Rabbitholebd Sports.

BPL 2023 Key Players

While there were no icon players in the auction, some players can take their team to the final. Let’s see some of the icon players in 2023 BPL.

Taskin Ahmed

Taskin Ahmed will play for Dhaka Dominators this season. He played for Sylhet Sunrisers last season but could not continue playing for them due to injury. So, he aims to give his full effort to perform his best.

Read More: BPL 2023: Mahmudullah in Barishal, Mushfiqur in Sylhet

Afif Hussain

Chattogram Challengers’ 2022 BPL captain Afif Hussain will also play for the same team this year. Despite not winning the title, the young batsman’s leadership caught the attention of the franchise. Chittagong is relying on Afif for this season of BPL.

Litton Das

With his recent deal with Kolkata Knight Riders, Litton Das will be playing more confidently with his BPL team Comilla Victorians. Since Litton has had great form recently, Comilla can expect an uninterrupted performance from him as the team is starting the tournament as defending champion.

Shakib Al Hasan

BPL 2022’s player of the series, Shakib Al Hasan, will surely put all his effort into Fortune Barishal. Apart from this, he won the five players of the match award. And he was also the third most wicket taker with 16 wickets.

Read More: BPL 2023: What Mashrafe, Perara and Amir can bring to Sylhet Strikers

Tamim Iqbal

Last year played for Minister Dhaka, and Tamim Iqbal will play for Khulna Tigers this year. Tamim had an excellent BPL season in 2022. With a total of 407 runs in 9 matches, Tamim was the third most run in the tournament.

Mashrafe Bin Murtaza

Mashrafe Bin Mortuza will be the icon and captain of Sylhet Strikers in BPL 2023. Although Mashrafe could not shine for Minister Dhaka in the 2022 season, he may lead Sylhet this year with his brilliant captaincy.

Mahmudullah Riyad

Mahmudullah will play for fortune Barishal. Although he did not get the team by direct sign-up, Mahmudullah has participated in all the seasons of BPL. With an average strike rate of more than 100, Mahmudullah has been consistent in BPL. He had some incredible performances with two players of the match award in last year’s BPL for Minister Dhaka.

Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim will be a key player for Sylhet Strikers this season. Although he did not have a good season last year with Khulna Tigers, this year, he is expected to put his full effort with Captain Mashrafe’s direction. Not to mention, Mushfiqur Rahim was the second player in BPL to touch the 2000 runs milestone in 2020.

Nurul Hasan Sohan

Nurul Hasan played for fortune Barishal last year and will play for Rangpur Raiders this year. Rangpur signed him up directly to be the captain of the team.

Read IPL Auction 2023: Sold Players List, Team, Major Players to watchMore: 

BPL 2023 Venues

BPL will be played in three venues Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka; Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong; and Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium

It is also known as Mirpur stadium. Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium will host 26 matches of BPL 2023, including the opening match and final match of the tournament. It has a capacity of around 26,000 which means around 26,000 people can enjoy a BPL match at a time on this ground.

Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium

This stadium will host 12 BPL matches in the 2023 season. Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium has a 22,000 capacity. Since the beginning of BPL, it has been one of the main venues for BPL. Apart from BPL, this stadium also hosted numerous international cricket tournaments.

Read More: 2022 Cricket Year Review: A Flashback of the Major Events 

Sylhet International Cricket Stadium

With an 18,500 capacity, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will host 8 BPL matches in 2023. It hosted BPL for the first time in 2017. Apart from BPL, Sylhet hosted the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and 2014 ICC Women’s World Twenty20.

Final Words

Since this year’s winter seems to be more severe than previous years, there are possibilities to change the BPL 2023 schedule due to fog and extreme weather. However, if everything is alright, this schedule and order of matches and time will remain active.