DHAKA, June 27: Cricket in Bangladesh will soon have its own home, after sports authorities handed it a stadium near the national capital, officials said Friday.

While local clubs have their own small grounds, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has had to share the decades-old Bangabandhu National Stadium in downtown Dhaka with the soccer federation for domestic league finals and international matches.

Cricket pitches had to be laid at the grounds before every cricket event, which not only cost a large amount but also meant that cricketers were unable to practice during the soccer season.

But now, cricket will have its own venue — with modern training facilities — at the newer Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the Dhaka suburb of Mirpur.

“It is a dream come true to get a venue exclusively for cricket,” Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Ali Asghar Lobi said.

Work on refitting the stadium for cricket will start within three months and is expected to be completed next year.

The renovation will initially cost around US$260,000, Lobi said.

In addition, a major chunk of a US$500,000 grant from the Asian Cricket Council to develop cricket in Bangladesh will be spent on building training facilities at the Mirpur stadium, said Lobi, who is also the ACC president.

The Mirpur stadium, built in the 1980s, has been used mostly for athletics meets and some soccer matches. The stadium hosted the 1994 South Asian Federation games.

Athletics will now move to the Bangabandhu National Stadium, while soccer will have its own venue at a newly built stadium at Kamalapur in downtown Dhaka.

Cricket is the second most popular game after soccer in Bangladesh.—APP/AP