Khairul Alam; Dbarta24 — Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Tamim Iqbal has officially confirmed that the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will not take place this year.
Speaking directly to the media, the BCB chief revealed that the board is instead actively developing a new, sustainable framework to revamp Bangladesh’s domestic cricket structure.
The decision to pause the country’s flagship franchise T20 tournament comes in response to persistent non-compliance by franchise owners, systemic financial distress, and significant monetary losses incurred by the board over recent seasons.
Structural Issues and Financial Strain Behind the Decision
In his address, Tamim Iqbal outlined the fundamental flaws that led to the hiatus, emphasizing that running the BPL under its former operational model posed unacceptable risks to the board’s finances and integrity.
“This year, the BPL is not taking place,” Tamim stated. “We are working on a new formula. Once 60 to 70 percent of the work is completed, we will officially announce how we are structuring our domestic cricket calendar. It is going to be quite unique and exciting.”
The BCB president highlighted severe compliance failures among participating franchises. Apart from Rangpur and Rajshahi, most teams struggled with organizational standards, payment delays, and regulatory breaches.
Even in cases where franchises cleared their financial dues, full administrative compliance remained compromised.
The financial burden on the board was a deciding factor. Over the past two years, the BCB suffered losses amounting to nearly BDT 40 crore due to stepping in when franchises failed to meet obligations or withdrew from competition.
“If a team steps back or fails to maintain compliance, the BCB has to take responsibility for that team,” Tamim explained.
“Over the last two years, the BCB faced a loss of nearly BDT 40 crore. The board is supposed to profit from a franchise tournament, not incur losses”.
A Vision for Long-Term Reform
Despite the operational pause, the BCB chief emphasized that the board has no intention of permanently scrapping the tournament. Rather, the primary objective is to build a profitable, transparent, and sustainable framework that guarantees competitive integrity.
“Our desire to implement this is one thousand percent,” Tamim stressed. “However, I don’t want to rush anything. I want to do this right, even if it takes 6 to 12 months.”
The board has already initiated dialogue with existing franchises to address issues surrounding policy violations, outstanding payments, and bank guarantees.
Moving forward, the BCB plans to complete all franchise selection and licensing procedures well in advance—targeting April-May of next year—to prevent the last-minute arrangements that plagued previous editions.
“I could set up five teams tomorrow if I wanted to, but I won’t do that,” Tamim affirmed. “My top priority is ensuring fair, competitive cricket while safeguarding the honor and dignity of the BCB. I am ready to face criticism if it means doing the right thing.”
Historical Precedents
This marks only the third time in the history of the Bangladesh Premier League that the tournament has been placed on hold.
The competition was previously suspended in 2014 following match-fixing scandals and was later cancelled in 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
By stepping back to address governance and financial compliance, the current administration aims to rebuild the BPL as a premier international product.