The Bangladesh Premier League will not be staged this year as the Bangladesh Cricket Board prepares to overhaul a franchise system hit by financial losses, contractual issues and compliance failures, with BCB President Tamim Iqbal prepared to delay the competition for as long as necessary to establish a more sustainable model.
Iqbal confirmed the decision while speaking to reporters at the launch of the Game Development Trophy in Dhaka, bringing clarity to the immediate future of a competition whose next edition had remained uncertain since the new BCB leadership took charge. Iqbal said: “I don’t think so. The BPL will not happen this year.”
Rather than assembling another group of teams simply to keep the tournament on the calendar, the Board intends to address the problems surrounding its franchise arrangements before bringing the BPL back. He stated: “I have said before regarding the BPL that I do not want to do the BPL the way it was done before.”
Franchise problems force BCB rethink
At the heart of the BCB’s decision are questions over whether the existing franchise structure provides the contractual and financial certainty required to operate the competition. The Board has begun communicating with franchises over issues including defaults, outstanding payments and bank guarantees.
He added: “Apart from Rangpur and Rajshahi, there are compliance problems with the other franchises. Many have not signed contracts, and many have broken the rules.”
The BCB wants the franchise process completed much earlier in the tournament cycle, ideally around April or May, providing enough time to respond if an operator fails to meet its commitments. The alternative could leave the Board exposed after preparations have already advanced.
Iqbal noted: “If I start in August with five franchises and go to the draft in September, and if someone withdraws in between, then the BCB will once again have to take responsibility for that team.”
The BCB President believes assembling enough teams to stage a tournament would itself be relatively straightforward. He added: “I could put five teams together tomorrow if I wanted to, but do you want that?”
BCB targets sustainable BPL after financial losses
The restructuring also has a significant financial dimension. The BCB has incurred losses of around Tk40 crore (approx. US$3.3 million) from the BPL over the past two years, creating pressure to change a model under which the governing body believes franchise cricket should generate returns rather than losses.
He said: “BCB is supposed to make a profit from franchise cricket, not a loss. So until we fix this, holding a tournament at a loss is not important.”
Despite putting the competition on hold, the BCB does not intend to abandon the BPL. Iqbal continued: “The BPL is a great product and there is a lot of interest in it. If we can do it properly, the interest will increase even more.”
The timetable for its return will therefore depend on the progress of the restructuring rather than a predetermined deadline. Iqbal said: “Our intention is 1000 per cent to do this. But I do not want to rush. I want to do it properly. If it takes six, 12 or 24 months, I will take that time.”
Foreign franchises under consideration
The BCB’s review could eventually extend to the identity and profile of the organisations operating BPL teams. Bringing established overseas franchise groups into the league is among the possibilities being considered, although the Board intends to review the relevant policies with lawyers before determining how such participation could work.
Iqbal noted: “If a renowned foreign franchise comes, the acceptability of the BPL will increase.”
Any new approach would form part of the wider effort to establish longer-term certainty around franchise participation rather than rebuilding the league shortly before each edition.
For Iqbal, the overhaul also carries significance beyond Bangladesh following his appointment as Chairman of the ICC’s Franchise League Committee. He added: “If franchise cricket in my country is not properly structured, then stopping it and starting again will send a big message to my committee.”
Tamim prioritises long-term reset
Putting the BPL on hold means players will lose an earning opportunity, an impact Tamim has acknowledged. However, the BCB President has indicated that staging another edition without first addressing the competition’s underlying problems would not take priority over reforming its structure.
Iqbal stated: “What is important to me is fair cricket and maintaining the dignity of the BCB.”
The BCB will now use the additional time to work through its franchise selection and institutional processes, with April-May identified as the preferred period for completing the franchise arrangements. The competition’s return will depend on that restructuring, with Tamim making clear that the Board is prepared to extend the process rather than bring the BPL back under the existing model.
