The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has introduced a franchise-based tournament named Domestic 3 for the country's 2026-27 domestic calendar.

Six corporate entities have acquired franchises to compete in the tournament, which will feature teams contesting three distinct competitions—first-class, List A and T20—every season under a three-year contract signed between the board and each franchise owner.

The tournament is set to kick off with the T20 segment, tentatively scheduled to start on December 15, before proceeding to the first-class and one-day legs slated for January and May next year, respectively.

BCB president Tamim Iqbal stated that the competition was established to restore enthusiasm and vitality to the domestic circuit.

Long-standing sponsor Walton has secured one of the franchises alongside Acme Laboratories, ACE Blue Star, Citizens Bank, Seven Rings Cement, and Fortune Group.

Franchise owners will reportedly pay an annual fee of 2.5 crore taka (approximately 203,283 US dollars) to the board, an amount that encompasses player match fees.

The governing body plans to conduct a draft later this week to select team management, allowing franchises to bid for their preferred coaches.

A player draft will follow next month, requiring each franchise to assemble a 23-member squad to cover all three formats.

Additionally, the board named six icon players for the participating teams: Mehidy Hasan Miraz for Walton, Towhid Hridoy for Fortune Group, Mosaddek Hossain for Acme Laboratories, Mushfiqur Rahim for Seven Rings Cement, Nurul Hasan for ACE Blue Star, and Mohammad Naim for Citizens Bank.

The new competition will integrate the existing first-class and List A tournaments of the Bangladesh Cricket League alongside the NCL T20s.

Bangladesh's domestic season officially commences on October 3 with the regional National Cricket League first-class tournament, which features teams representing the country's eight divisions.