In a latest update on the Bangladesh Premier League, the tournament will have only five teams, in a mid-December to mid-Jan window, as per a report in Cricbuzz. The same was conveyed by BPL GC secretary Iftikhar Rahman Mithu said on Saturday. The latter went on to add, that the decision was taken, after keeping in consideration, the time constraints ahead of the T20 World Cup next year.
Five-team Bangladesh Premier League
“The board has decided to host the BPL from mid-December to mid-January,” said Iftekhar. “Given the short window we have this year, we are comfortable with five teams. That doesn’t mean it can’t be six or seven in the future, but our priority is to stage a five-team BPL within a one-month window,” he said.
Meanwhile, the current champions of the BPL, Fortune Barishal might not be taking part in the BPL next year. Skipper Tamim Iqbal announced that the team was boycotting cricket, with Animul Islam present in the board. But Iftekhar was hopeful that Barishal would change their decision.
No Fortune Barishal in BPL
“My request is that it would be good if they (Fortune Barishal team) come,” said Iftekhar. “I can’t force anyone to come. We welcome them; they have run their team well and we have never had any complaints. So, we always want well-managed teams like theirs to participate. We are open, but we can’t force anyone. From my perspective, considering the effort they put in and the following they built in Barishal… my request is that it would be good if they came,” he said.
He also went on to say that, it would be a careful selection of franchises, given the controversies that took place last year. “The problems we faced in the last BPL were mainly related to the franchises. So, the selection of the franchise will be very strict. If the financials aren’t right, if the management isn’t right… you might be a big group with good financials, but you need people for cricket management as well. We will primarily look at these things,” he said.
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