Published: Sep 16, 2015, 03:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 16, 2015, 03:48 PM (IST)
The third edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is going to start from November 24 of this year. Six teams will participate in this edition of BPL. The inauguration ceremony will take place on November 22 and the main tournament will kick off from November 24 at the Mirpur Sher e Bangla National Stadium. Afzalur Rahman Sinha, the Chairman of BPL Governing Council announced the schedule of the tournament on Wednesday during a press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. The ownership details of six teams representing Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Barisal and Comilla were also announced at the media briefing. READ: Bangladesh tour will show how good Australian domestic cricket is, says Brad Haddin
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is reviving the lucrative BPL, two years after it was halted in the wake of match-fixing scandals. It was started in 2012, was suspended indefinitely after the second edition amid revelations that former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful and four others were involved in fixing matches. The tournament, which drew talent from around the world, was also tainted by salary issues, including franchises failing to pay match fees to scores of players.
This time BCB is extra cautious. According to BPL officials said the new tournament has the backing of big Bangladeshi companies companies. “This time we’ve big companies buying franchises. So hopefully players’ payment won’t be an issue from now on,” BPL secretary Ismail Haider told a press conference in Dhaka.We are confident BPL will attract some of the best cricketers on earth,” he further added.
Haider also said the BCB would engage anti-corruption officers to tackle match-fixing issues. “We have our own anti-graft unit, which is fully functional.” Ashraful and four players and officials, including New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent, were banned for various periods after a tribunal set up jointly by the International Cricket Council and the BCB found them guilty.
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), a players’ body, last year had warned members against future participation in the BPL due to prolonged non-payment of match fees. Haider said the BCB has cleared dues owed to almost all of the players who took part in the earlier editions. It has received bank guarantees from the new franchises to avoid a repeat of the problem.
(With inputs from AFP)
