Bangladesh Cricket Board halts flagship T20 league to 'rebuild it properly'

Bangladesh's biggest domestic cricket tournament will be parked for at least a year. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will not stage the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 2025, with president Tamim Iqbal confirming on Thursday that the competition has been suspended while the board overhauls its structure.

"The BPL will not happen this year," Tamim told reporters, attributing the decision to several franchises failing to follow the league's rules and regulations.

A costly venture

Launched in 2012, the BPL is Bangladesh's marquee domestic T20 event but has struggled to match the commercial success of franchise leagues in India and Australia. Tamim said the board has been grappling with unpaid dues and problems related to bank guarantees, and has lost around $3.3 million from the tournament over the past two years.

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.

"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."

Corruption and chaos

The league has lurched from one crisis to another in recent months. In May, the BCB suspended a player and multiple team officials over betting violations following an anti-corruption investigation into the tournament. The previous season also saw several matches rescheduled after domestic cricketers boycotted games in protest at comments made by BCB official Nazmul Islam, who criticised players and questioned their financial value.

Tamim acknowledged the frustration among players but argued that rebuilding the tournament matters more. "If I was a player, I'd be disheartened too," he 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."

Restructuring with an eye on the future

The BCB chief insisted the board remains committed to reviving the competition, but will not rush. "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 said.

Tamim, who was recently appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council's new Franchise League Committee, said Bangladesh's troubled experience with the BPL makes the overhaul even more significant. "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.

The announcement came as Tamim launched the Game Development (GD) Trophy, a new tournament featuring Bangladesh's under-17, under-19 and under-23 teams. The BCB has begun discussions with existing franchises and plans to complete the franchise selection process by April or May next year, and is open to bringing foreign franchises into the revamped BPL.