BPL to be held this year without the franchises -The Asian Age

The prestigious money-spanning Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to be held this year without the franchises after BPL Governing council failed to resolve conflicts with the franchises. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Boss Nazmul Hasan Papon confirmed on Wednesday to the reporters.

Papon also confirmed BPL will run in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to commemorate the occasion of his 100th birthday.

"As you all know, the first cycle of the tournament has ended. We were set to strike a new deal with the franchises and we talked to them and have seen their reactions in the media. They have quite a few demands. Those demands are totally in conflict with our main module of the tournament. We were not able to accept their demands in any way. Papon told reporters in a press briefing.

"A few of the franchises have said that they prefer that the BPL not take place this year since two tournaments in a single year will put a lot of pressure on them. After considering everything we have decided to run BPL ourselves without taking any franchises."  Papon said BCB planned to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu in 2020. Therefore they decided the arrange BPL in Bangabandhu's name.

"Another reason is that next year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bangabandhu. To pay homage we will run the tournament in his name and won't hand it to the franchises," Papon said.

"You can think of the Big Bash and the same format will be used. This time it will be Bangabandhu BPL. If there are any sponsors, his[Bangabandhu's] name will come first [when naming the tournament].

"The BCB will do everything and it's the first step. We might take sponsors and if someone wants to sponsor a team, they can come. "The teams will be as they were and only the responsibility to manage the team will be on the BCB. The players' transportation and accomodation will be managed by us. This will make others happy and those [franchises] who were not willing to play this year will be happy. Those who are thinking of financial loss will also be happy.

"We will try to keep the previous names of the teams involved although it will depend on the sponsors. At the very least, Dhaka, Khulna and names as such will remain. It's because the format is only for this year and may not remain next year," Papon concluded.