Amid several franchises’ move to rope in star players for their teams for the next season of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said it has no validity as they are yet to renew contracts with the franchises for a new cycle of the tournament, reports UNB.
Most of the franchises who played the last season of BPL and are expected to sign new deals with the board accepted its stance. But they are seeking consistency in rules and regulations of BPL in the new contracts.
Recently, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfqiur Rahim have moved to Khulna Titans and Comilla Victorians respectively from their previous teams. But, BCB had said nothing about these transfers.
But, when Rangpur Riders announced that they roped in Shakib Al Hasan for the forthcoming edition of BPL, BCB felt the urgency to clear their stance regarding the player transfer before signing the new contracts with franchises.
“The contract of BCB with the previous franchises expired after the 6th edition of BPL and a fresh contract is needed between two parties to run a team for the 7th edition of BPL” BCB director Mahbub Anam said on Sunday citing the clause 3.1 of the franchise agreements with the BCB.
With this clarification from the BCB, the recent player transfers have no validity. Mahbub further said that the franchises have to join an auction or player draft to rope in the players.
In an immediate reaction, Rangpur Rider’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ishtiaque Sadeque said they might not play in the upcoming BPL.
However, Titans welcomed the decision of BPL governing council and seek a stable regulation for the future.
“Titans welcome the latest stance of BCB regarding BPL. But we want a transparent set of rules and regulations for the next deal, which will be obeyed properly by the all parties,” Kazi Inam Ahmed, the Managing Director of the Titans.
Titans had roped in Tamim, who played for Comilla Victorians in the last season for the forthcoming edition of BPL. But, with the latest move by the BPL governing council, the transfer is not a valid one now.
“Everything has a continuation. As the next season of BPL is not too far, we have started our plan roping a local player. But, now BCB has cleared that a franchise can contact the players only after renewing its deal with the board. So, we are up to go as the new regulations,” Inam Ahmed added.
Another BPL team Rajshahi Kings refused to make any comment on the recent move of BCB regarding players’ transfer. But, they also want firm regulations for the future.
“The only thing Rajshahi Kings always wants is to share revenue with the franchises and stay firm on the same rules and regulations during the contract period. As we have seen over the years, BPL authorities made changes to some rules that created chaos and harmed the brand of the tournament,” Tahmeed Azizul Haque, CEO of Rajshahi Kings, told UNB.
“Now, BCB is set to start a new cycle of the contract with the franchises. We welcome this move. At the same time, we want not to make any change to whatever the rules and regulations we will have this time around,” he added.
Comilla Victorians and Dhaka Dynamites look reluctant to comment on the issue. They declined to talk over the issue when approached by UNB.Meanwhile, Chittagong Vikings’ owner has opted out from BPL citing they are not interested anymore to run a team in the most prestigious T20 tournament of the country.
At the same time, Sylhet Sixers are also confused about their future in BPL. In this circumstance, BCB issued an Express of Interest (EOI) for the interested applicants for franchisee rights of the two teams.
The 7th season of BPL is scheduled to begin on December 6. Before that, an opening ceremony will be held on December 3. A maximum of eight teams will participate in this BPL.