DPL set for February 5 start

The Dhaka Premier League (DPL) will start from February 5 and the player-by-choice draft is set to take place on January 20, informed the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed after a CCDM meeting which took place at the BCB headquarters yesterday.

Earlier, Inam had informed that they are trying to start the lone 50-over domestic tournament of the country from January 20 but the Bangladesh Cricket Board's tournament committee later decided to start the Bangladesh Cricket League, a first-class tournament which will be split into two legs to accommodate the DPL in between, from January 8.

"Our Chairman Nazmul Hassan told us to complete the main cricket leagues like DPL within the cricket season. We had a target of starting the league in the last week of January or at the beginning of February. But we have a shortage of grounds and since the NCL [National Cricket League] has finished now, we want to start the BCL rounds [three rounds] from January 8 and it will end within January 24.  So the player-by-choice will be held on January 20 for Dhaka Premier League. And the premier league will start from February 5," Inam told reporters after the meeting yesterday.

According to the CCDM chairman, each team can retain five players from the previous season apart from the 12 A-plus and A category players who will be available for the players' draft, along with the rest of the players.

"There is always concern among the players about regular payments, so we have decided that clubs will need to pay 50 per cent of the remuneration to the retained players ahead of the draft. If any club fails, that player cannot be retained and he has to go to the draft.

"And those players who will get picked in the draft will have to be paid 50 per cent of the remuneration within the given deadline ahead of the tournament's start. 25 per cent of the remainder will have to be paid during the tournament and the last 25 per cent will be paid after the tournament ends," he added.

Inam also added that the Second Division League will start on January 20 and the players' transfer will take place on January 10. The First Division League will start after the DPL, third division will start after the second division and if the CCDM can arrange some more venues then these tournaments may overlap.