BPL delayed by 5 days
The upcoming seventh edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been postponed by five days and the T20 tournament is set to start from December 11, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan informed yesterday. The upcoming edition has been named the Bangabandhu BPL to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The BCB had earlier said that the BPL would start from December 6 after the BPL governing council had announced that they would scrap the franchise-based format and that the board would host the tournament on its own. The BCB boss revealed the new start date after a meeting regarding the BPL yesterday.
“As you know, initially we wanted to start the upcoming edition of the BPL on December 6. But we are also looking to stage an opening ceremony, so we decided to postpone the league by five days. Finally, we have booked November 17 for the players draft and the opening ceremony will take place on December 8, with the tournament beginning from December 11,” Hassan told reporters.
Hassan also said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Bangabandhu BPL, and expressed hope that the opening ceremony will be the grandest ceremony ever.
The BCB boss informed that there will be seven teams participating in the tournament and that the BCB have already finalised five team sponsors. The BCB will likely operate the two remaining teams on their own.
Hassan also spoke about Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, the BCB director arrested for his involvement with illegal casinos, and said that it was difficult for the board to take action against an elected councillor and director.
“Our stance is very clear as we will do everything according to the law. At the moment we need to wait for a while as it’s difficult to suspend an elected councillor and director of the BCB. First, we need to know about the laws and then take decisions accordingly,” he added.
Hassan also spoke about Shakib Al Hasan, saying that there is no scope for the BCB to appeal to reduce the two-year ban (the second of those suspended) levied by the ICC as it may have an adverse effect on the cricketer.