Bangladesh Premier League Cricket Rescheduled For Tuesday: Rain Pushes Tournament Start To November 8

[UPDATE: November 5] Bangladesh Premier League cricket is back — once the weather clears up. After rain washed out the first two days of matches in Mirpur, Dhaka — with continued downpour in the forecast for Sunday and Monday as well — the BPL announced Saturday that the 2016 tournament will start again from the beginning on Tuesday, November 8.

All of the washed-out matches will be replayed, according to a statement from Bangladesh Premier League domestic TV broadcaster Channel 9. The exact look of the revised 2016 BPL fixture list has yet to be announced.

Rain mars both matches on opening day https://t.co/jHve4GAijz

— Rahul kumar (@Rahulku51103251) November 5, 2016

Both matches on Day One were washed out by heavy rains.

The BPL has added two new franchises, eliminated one and added a dozen games to its schedule in 2016. But one thing has not changed in the 2016 BPL, however. Bangladesh cricket icon Mashrafe Mortaza will once again captain the defending champion Comilla Victorians as the team looks to repeat as titlists.

Mortaza has captained all three BPL champions, starting with his two seasons at the helm of the Dhaka Gladiators, now known as the Dhaka Dynamites, followed by the Comilla championship last year. Mortaza and the Vikings will see action, weather permitting, in the second match of the day on Saturday.

Bangladesh Premier League begins from Nov 4 https://t.co/NSUvXEhHWW pic.twitter.com/DfApCQtLd6

— The News (@thenews_intl) November 2, 2016

The first match of the day, Barisal Bulls vs. Chittagong Vikings, gets underway at 2:00 p.m. Bangladesh time on Saturday, November 5, at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh — followed by Comilla Victorians vs. Dhaka Dynamites starting at 7 p.m.

To find information about how to watch a live stream of either or both Bangladesh Premier League matches, scroll down to the bottom of this article. In the United Kingdom those start times will be 8:30 a.m. and noon, while in India, play will begin at 2 p.m. for the Barisal vs. Chittagong match and 6:30 p.m. for Comilla vs. Dhaka.

In the United States, however, cricket fans had better plan for a later night, or an early morning. The games begin at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:30 a.m Pacific, and 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific.

Highlights of Last Year’s Championship Final

Facing the Barisal Bulls in the 2015 BPL final match, Mortaza and his Victorians did not have an easy time securing the Bangladesh national one-day captain his third straight BPL trophy. The match went down to the final ball, as Comilla finally pulled out a three-wicket win.

Watch full highlights of the memorable match in the video below.

Players to Watch in BPL 2016

While the brightest young star in Bangladesh cricket, pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, will miss this year’s BPL competition with an ongoing shoulder injury that has sidelined him since June, there are still plenty of Bangladesh national team stars, as well as overseas big names, taking part in this year’s T20 tournament.

Darren Sammy, who captained the West Indies T20 national team to World Cup glory earlier this year only to be removed from his post by the West Indies Cricket Board soon afterward, returns as captain of the new Rajshahi franchise, who will go up against Mortaza’s champion Comilla side in the first match of the season.

Liam Dawson, the England one-day all-rounder who has no place in that country’s Test side as they move on to India after splitting two Tests in Bangladesh, defied his own country’s security specialists to accept a place in the 2016 BPL. Dawson also never got into the starting XI in England’s 50-overs series against Bangladesh.

Chris Gayle, after leaving the Barisal Bulls under a cloud of controversy before their playoff run last year, will return with the Chittagong Vikings in 2016. But the heavy-hitting Jamaican will play only five games for Chittagong starting later in the tournament.

Tymal Mills should dazzle Bangladesh fans with some of the world’s fastest bowling, frequently nearing 95 miles per hour as he unleashes vicious yorkers and bouncers that leave batsmen cowering. Due to a chronic back issue, Mills is limited largely to T20 competitions, and he hopes that his stint with Chittagong in the 2016 BPL will help establish him as one of the world’s top T20 bowlers.

Shakib Al Hasan, arguably the best international cricket Bangladesh has ever produced, will bring his all-round skills to the Dhaka franchise as the Dynamites expect to mount a spin challenge to Comilla to reclaim their title.

Shahid Afridi, the colorful Pakistan great who retired from international competition recently, comes back to try to lead Rangpur into the BPL 2016 playoffs.

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To watch the Comilla Victorians vs. Rajshahi Kings and Rangpur Riders vs. Khulna Titans opening day Bangladesh Premier League 2016 T20 cricket matches live stream from Dhaka, use this streaming link from the Bangladesh satellite network Channel 9, which will broadcast the competition again this year — or try this link for an alternative live stream.

While the Channel 9 streaming link should work throughout the world, fans in the United States can also go to ESPN3, the online-only channel in the ESPN network, which will carry the games live in the United States at this link. ESPN3 carries all 46 Bangladesh Premier League games in the 2016 season, and the streaming channel is free to subscribers of most major internet service providers and many minor ISPs, as well. For a full list, check this link.

Viewers in India who want to watch a live stream of the flashy T20 cricket competition can visit SonyLIV at this link, with registration required, or use the SonyLIV app to watch the Bangladesh Premier League on mobile devices.

Fans in the Middle East and North Africa can also watch the Bangladesh Premier League. The Dubai-based Orbit Showtime Network, OSN, broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa with a free live stream available without login credentials by clicking on this link. But the OSN stream is not available outside of the Middle East and North Africa regions.

[Featured Image By Matt King/Getty Images]