'Proper people needed for it'
Gazi Ashraf Hossain warned yesterday that if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) started this year's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) without a proper structure, then it would likely face the same fate as the previous editions.
"I have no idea what is going on, but one thing everyone must understand is that the board needs to have a proper structure, proper guidelines -- in one word, a project profile for this T20 tournament – to avoid the embarrassment we had previously faced," said the former national skipper and BCB director while speaking exclusively to The Daily Star over phone.
Gazi Ashraf, the chairman of the first BPL's governing council, knows better than anyone else how suicidal it is to start tournament of this magnitude without a proper framework.
"After what I have learned from hither and thither and from the media, I am still confused about whether the board is going to stage a franchise tournament or a corporate T20 league. The board has been talking about the third edition for a long time, so by now they must have done all the paperwork.
"When you say anything, you must talk in line with the reference of the guidelines, but I am not sure whether that has been the case. The board has decided to run the show, rather than giving the job to an event management company, so they must be more careful," continued Gazi Ashraf.
Referring to last edition's chaos, Gazi Ashraf raised the question why nobody had taken responsibility for its failure.
"If a player or coach can get penalised for their failure, then why not an official? Sinha bhai [current BPL governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha] is a true lover of the game, an honest man and a renowned organiser, but in my opinion he should be assisted by some knowledgeable people.
"If we want to showcase this tournament to the world then we must employ people like Mahbubul Anam [BCB vice-president] and Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby [BCB director]. To give this a professional shape and avoid any further embarrassment, you need these kinds of people to be involved," he said.
"I think we have had enough experience of how much damage can be done if there is a conflict of interest, so the board must be careful that there is no conflict of interest. Mallick [IH Mallick, BCB director and member secretary of BPL governing council] is heading the important logistics committee and there will be a lot of logistical issues in the BPL, so it will not only be a burden for him, but also questions will be raised about conflict of interest if he also continues as member secretary of the BPL," continued Gazi Ashraf.
He also rubbished talks that the board would not make profits from this tournament.
"Why won't they [make profits]? It's such an important property. The board must earn from it. Are we going to stage a tournament like the Dhaka league? If the idea is to accommodate a T20 league in the domestic calendar then there is no need to make it a franchise-based tournament.
"If we could earn Tk 20-22 crore from the first edition, despite the difficulties we faced, then what's wrong today? Our cricket is going through a good time, so this is the time for the board to cash in on every aspect," questioned Gazi Ashraf.
"I don't see any reason to underestimate the commercial value of this league. Once again, I must say if we want to make it a sustainable tournament then we must have professionals and knowledgeable people to run it under a proper structure. There is no alternative," Gazi Ashraf concluded.