DHAKA, Sept 12, 2026 (BSS)- A nationwide T20 cricket tournament will be 
organised in memory of late Arafat Rahman Koko, younger son of Shaheed 
President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and also 
the former chairman of Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, 
to unearth cricketers from remote areas and provide them an opportunity to 
showcase their talent on a bigger stage.

The Arafat Rahman Koko Memorial Trust is planning to launch the tournament in 
mid-December, with teams from different districts taking part in the 
competition.

The tournament will be organised in 10 regional phases, covering the 
country's eight administrative divisions, with Faridpur and Cumilla treated 
as separate regions. The champions from each region will qualify for the 
final phase in Dhaka, where the semifinals and final will be held.

BCB director Sharforaj Ahmed, also the co-ordinator of the trust, disclosed 
the tournament plan at Mirpur today.

"There are many cricketers in remote areas of our country who do not get 
opportunities to play. Through this tournament, they will get a chance to 
participate in a good competition," Sharforaj said.

There will be no specific player-category restrictions for the tournament. 
Players from the national team, Premier League, first division and other 
levels will be eligible to participate based on their availability during the 
competition.

The organisers said the 10-region format was planned considering the balance 
in the number of districts and organisational convenience.

The tournament is not being organised under the Bangladesh Cricket Board's 
(BCB) jurisdiction, Sharforaj clarified.

"This will be entirely under the Arafat Rahman Koko Memorial Trust. The 
organiser is the Arafat Rahman Koko Memorial Trust," he said.

The coordinator said the trust had been organising cricket tournaments in 
memory of Koko in Bangladesh and abroad at different times over the past 12 
years, although activities were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are trying to bring the tournament under one umbrella and start the 
Arafat Rahman Koko T20 Cricket Tournament at the divisional level across 
Bangladesh," he said.

The venues have not yet been finalised. The organisers said grounds would be 
selected after considering availability during the proposed mid-December 
window. Details of the prize money and other arrangements will be announced 
later.

Arafat Rahman Koko, the youngest son of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and 
former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia served as chairman of the BCB's Games 
Development Committee from 2002 to 2005. 

During his tenure, several initiatives were taken to improve age-group 
cricket and the player-development structure. He was the first one to take 
the initiative of enriching BCB's players pipeline and unleashed players like 
Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad who shaped Bangladesh cricket 
for over the last two decades.
 
His contribution to building Bangladesh cricket's pipeline has also been 
recalled by the BCB in recent times.

Sharforaj said the main objective of the tournament was to take Koko's memory 
and contribution to cricket and sports to players across the country.