Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) this year is going to be held without any franchises as BCB had unresolved issues on and off the field with the franchise’ owners. The BCB will manage the teams themselves and organize BPL on their own. The board did not enter into a new contract with any franchise this year.
On top of that, the name of the country’s most favorite domestic cricket is also changed. BPL this year will be named after Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to commemorate the occasion of his 100th birthday.
Board President Nazmul Hasan Papan informed reporters yesterday (Wednesday) of the new arrangement of BPL at the BCB office in Mirpur. The seventh edition of the BPL is scheduled to begin on 6th December with seven teams from the previous season. The president also confirmed that teams will carry the names of their cities in case of name changes. The inaugural event will be on December 3rd.
Nazmul said the BCB will finance the entire tournament. That means the board will bear the cost of each team and the cricketers. This year, the contract with all the franchisees was terminated by the BCB. Prior to the new agreement, the two sides could not reach a consensus on various issues. The BCB chief said that keeping the current situation in mind, they have decided to walk on different path.
“As you all know, the first cycle of the tournament has ended. We were set to strike a new deal with the franchises and we talked to them and have seen their reactions in the media. They have quite a few demands. Those demands are totally in conflict with our main module of the tourney. We were not able to accept their demands in any way.
“A few of the franchises have said that they prefer that the BPL to not take place this year since two tournaments in a single year will put a lot of pressure on them. After considering everything we have decided to run BPL ourselves without taking any franchises.
The BPL chief said that the BPL is being arranged in such a way that it is being promoted as a special event in regard to the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu in 2020. “Another reason is that next year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bangabandhu. To pay homage we will run the tournament in his name and won’t hand it to the franchises,” he said.
“You can think of the Big Bash and the same format will be used. This time it will be Bangabandhu BPL. If there are any sponsors, his (Bangabandhu’s) name will come first.
The BCB chief said they had made the decision this time to avoid a crisis created by the franchise’ disobedience. The complexity was created after Shakib Al Hasan was drafted into Rangpur Raiders from Dhaka Dynamites. The BCB has said this was done by not complying with the rules. If the franchises agree to the BCB rules in the future, then the franchise league will return from next year.