The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Wednesday that Mymensingh Division will replace Dhaka Metro in the National Cricket League, country's traditional first-class tournament, which is scheduled to begin from October 25.

The BCB Board during its 20th meeting held on August 9 decided to include Mymensingh Division in the NCL for the first time.

"Consequently, the Dhaka Metro team will not be a participant in the upcoming competition," BCB said in a statement.

BCB added that in a move aimed at supporting player preparation for upcoming international red-ball commitments, and as per the suggestions from the BCB Cricket Operations, the event's Technical Committee has approved the use of Kookaburra balls for the first two rounds while the remaining rounds will be played with Dukes ball.

Using Kookaburra balls in the first two rounds will provide players an opportunity to adapt to it, which is expected to help them transition smoothly to international cricket.

The decision to play with Kookaburra ball is largely aimed to prepare players for Bangladesh's Test series against Ireland next month as Kookaburra ball will be used in the two-match Test series.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests and three T20Is against Ireland in November, with the first Test set to begin on November 11 in Sylhet and the second from November 19 in Mirpur.

BCB has been using Dukes balls in the eight-team first-class tournament for the past three years in order to promote fast bowlers.