Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will not take place this year, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Tamim Iqbal has said, as the board looks to restructure the franchise competition following financial and governance concerns.
Tamim was speaking at the launch of the Game Development (GD) Trophy in Dhaka, a new tournament featuring Bangladesh's under-17, under-19 and under-23 teams.
"The BPL will not happen this year," Tamim told reporters, adding that some franchises had breached rules and regulations.
The BCB is also dealing with unpaid dues and bank guarantee issues, while Tamim said the board had suffered losses of about USD 3.3m from the competition over the past two years.
"The BPL is a great product and there is a lot of interest in it," Tamim said. "If we can do it properly, the interest will increase even more. 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."
Tamim said the BCB remains committed to staging the BPL in the future but would not rush its return. "Our intention is 1,000 per cent to host BPL," he said. "But I do not want to rush. I want to do it properly, if it takes six months or 12 months, I will take that time."
Tamim was recently appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council's newly formed Franchise League Committee. He said addressing the problems facing Bangladesh's own franchise competition was particularly important given his new role. "If franchise cricket does not run properly in my country, then stopping it, and rebuilding it, will be a big message for my committee," he said.
The BPL will therefore remain on hold while the BCB works to address its financial and franchise-related issues before deciding when the competition can return.
BPL is Bangladesh’s leading domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. It was launched by the Bangladesh Cricket Board in 2012, but over the last 14 years, the BPL has completed 12 editions, with one of the interruptions largely linked to a corruption investigation, alongside other scheduling and organisational challenges. The league has generally featured between six and seven teams in each edition.
The BPL’s franchise structure has changed considerably over the years, with teams being renamed, replaced or returning under new ownership. Across its history, franchises have represented major areas including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Comilla and, more recently, Noakhali.
Tamim was speaking at the launch of the Game Development (GD) Trophy in Dhaka, a new tournament featuring Bangladesh's under-17, under-19 and under-23 teams.
"The BPL will not happen this year," Tamim told reporters, adding that some franchises had breached rules and regulations.
The BCB is also dealing with unpaid dues and bank guarantee issues, while Tamim said the board had suffered losses of about USD 3.3m from the competition over the past two years.
"The BPL is a great product and there is a lot of interest in it," Tamim said. "If we can do it properly, the interest will increase even more. 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."
Tamim said the BCB remains committed to staging the BPL in the future but would not rush its return. "Our intention is 1,000 per cent to host BPL," he said. "But I do not want to rush. I want to do it properly, if it takes six months or 12 months, I will take that time."
Tamim was recently appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council's newly formed Franchise League Committee. He said addressing the problems facing Bangladesh's own franchise competition was particularly important given his new role. "If franchise cricket does not run properly in my country, then stopping it, and rebuilding it, will be a big message for my committee," he said.
The BPL will therefore remain on hold while the BCB works to address its financial and franchise-related issues before deciding when the competition can return.
BPL is Bangladesh’s leading domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. It was launched by the Bangladesh Cricket Board in 2012, but over the last 14 years, the BPL has completed 12 editions, with one of the interruptions largely linked to a corruption investigation, alongside other scheduling and organisational challenges. The league has generally featured between six and seven teams in each edition.
The BPL’s franchise structure has changed considerably over the years, with teams being renamed, replaced or returning under new ownership. Across its history, franchises have represented major areas including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Comilla and, more recently, Noakhali.
