Financial loss, betting, corruption: BCB suspends Bangladesh Premier League

Bangladesh’s top domestic T20 tournament, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), will not be held this year as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) plans to restructure the competition, board president Tamim Iqbal said on Thursday.Tamim said the tournament has been suspended because several franchises failed to follow the league’s rules and regulations."The BPL will not happen this year," Tamim told reporters.The BPL began in 2012 and is Bangladesh’s biggest domestic cricket tournament. However, it has struggled to match the success of franchise leagues in countries such as India and Australia.Tamim said the BCB has also been dealing with unpaid dues and problems related to bank guarantees. According to him, the board has lost around $3.3 million from the BPL over the past two years."The BPL is a great product and there is a lot of interest in it. If we can do it properly, the interest will increase even more," Tamim said."BCB is supposed to make a profit from franchise cricket, not a loss. So until we fix this, holding a tournament at a loss is not important," he said.Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo reported that the BCB suffered losses of nearly 400 million Bangladeshi taka ($3.27 million) during the last two BPL seasons.Tamim said he understood the disappointment among players but believes rebuilding the tournament is more important."If I was a player, I'd be disheartened too," Tamim added."But they also know that this tournament should be staged in a way that the BCB can be proud of. Are we proud of what has happened over the last few years? Perhaps not."The BPL has faced several issues in recent months. In May, the BCB suspended a player and multiple team officials over betting violations after an anti-corruption investigation into the tournament.The previous season also saw several matches rescheduled after domestic cricketers boycotted games over comments made by BCB official Nazmul Islam, who criticised players and questioned their financial value.Tamim said the BCB is committed to bringing the tournament back but will take time to fix the problems."Our intention is 1,000 percent to host BPL. But I do not want to rush. I want to do it properly; if it takes six months or 12 months, I will take that time," he added.Tamim, who was recently appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council’s new Franchise League Committee, said Bangladesh’s experience with the BPL makes the overhaul even more important."If franchise cricket does not run properly in my country, then stopping it, and rebuilding it, will be a big message for my committee," he said.Tamim made the announcement while launching the Game Development (GD) Trophy, a new tournament featuring Bangladesh’s under-17, under-19 and under-23 teams.He added that the BCB has started discussions with existing franchises and plans to complete the franchise selection process by April or May next year. The board is also open to including foreign franchises in the revamped BPL.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.