DHAKA: The grand opening ceremony of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) today (Dec 8).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the seventh and special edition of BPL at 7pm.

However, the main event will kick off on December 11 at the SBNCS with Chattogram Challengers taking on Sylhet Thunder in the opening match.

The opening ceremony will begin with the musical performance of local artistes at 5pm (Bangladesh time) where Bangladeshi rockstar James and Momtaz will perform.

Immediately after the inauguration, Indian artists Sonu Nigam and Kailash Kher will take the stage onwards. Following that, Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Salman will perform on the stage.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has completed the preparations for the opening ceremony. The event will start at 5pm with the performance of local artistes.

The BCB arranged 8,000 tickets for the spectators who want to witness the opening ceremony. But only a few thousand will be available for the general spectators as the BCB had to give at least 4,000 tickets as complementary to the club officials, former cricketers, sponsors and the government authorities.

Later, the BCB announced on Friday evening that they would arrange more tickets to meet the high demand.

Three days after the opening programme, the battle of the field of BBPL will take place at the same venue. A total of seven teams will participate in this special edition of BPL.

The teams are Dhaka Platoon, Chattogram Challengers, Comilla Warriors, Khulna Tigers, Rangpur Rangers, Rajshahi Royals and Sylhet Thunder.

A total of 46 matches will be played. In the league phase, 42 matches will be played while in the playoffs, a total of four matches will take place.

The final of the event will be held on January 17, 2020.

BDST: 1350 HRS, DEC 08, 2019
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