BPL directives expected in today’s BCB meeting

The directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are all set to sit today for a board of directors' meeting at the BCB Headquarters in Mirpur from where directives for the upcoming 11th edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) are expected to come to light.

After the fall of the Awami League government and changes at the BCB last month, holding the BPL -- the country's only franchise-based T20 tournament -- in scheduled time [expected starting date: December 27] has become a major challenge for the newly-elected board president Faruque Ahmed.

In recent weeks, Faruque met several previous franchise officials alongside some new interested companies after a few franchises that had political ties with the previous regime didn't show their interest in carrying on.

Along with that, previous financial due and players' payment issues of a few franchises were also the topics of discussion in the last few weeks which might be prompting the BCB to discard some of the previous franchises and go with new ones.

The Daily Star tried to reach several BCB directors for their official comments regarding the progress of BPL 2024-2025 but they showed reluctance to give any update.

However, it was learned that four of the previous seven franchises who featured in the last edition -- Fortune Barishal, Khulna Tigers, Sylhet Strikers, and Rangpur Riders -- along with three new franchises have already cleared their participation fee for the upcoming edition. The names of the new franchises are expected to be announced today.

Chattogram and Rajshahi franchises are likely to see some old faces, who had previous links with the BPL during its initial years, return while the Dhaka franchise is set to get a new owner.

A franchise official, requesting anonymity, said that they are also awaiting a proper directive from the board meeting in order to start their preparation for the upcoming edition.

"There are some issues like whether it will be a mega draft or there will be the retention policy. They may also go with increasing the number of direct signings. As we didn't get any decision, we are yet to start talking to the players regarding their participation," the official told The Daily Star yesterday.

Although the BCB failed to arrange the players' draft in the first week of September as per schedule, it was learned that they are now planning to hold it between October 10 and 12, and the announcement of the players' draft date is expected to be made today as well.

Meanwhile, it was also learned that the BCB has reduced the bank guarantee figure to Tk 6 crore from the previous amount of 8.5 crore.

The fate of several board directors, who are at risk of missing a third consecutive board meeting which may result in their loss of directorship, may be also decided today.