The Arafat Rahman Koko Memorial Trust is planning to launch a nationwide T20 cricket tournament which 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 tournament will be held in mid-December, with teams from different districts taking part in the competition, BCB director Sharforaj Ahmed, also the co-ordinator of the trust, disclosed the tournament plan at Mirpur.

.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.

"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.