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Past winners along with recent movers and shakers expressed their interest in owning Bangladesh Premier League franchises for the next three years as the deadline for the Expression of Interest ended on Tuesday.
But Comilla Victorians, the defending champions of the BPL, will not participate in the tournament.
Bangladesh Cricket Board had invited EOI from reputed business houses, agencies, companies, or consortiums for the franchise ownership rights of the seven teams for the upcoming three editions of BPL.
After the sixth season, BCB did not let the franchise ownership rights for more than one edition, which saw popular teams like Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Dynamites, and Khulna Titans absent from the later editions.
As BCB is now selling the ownership rights for three seasons and has already announced the start and finish date of the next three editions, the investors feel more assured.
Rangpur Riders, winner of the 2017 edition of BPL, are coming back to the arena as they dropped an EOI, said their head of operations, Tasvir Ur Islam. Rangpur Riders are managed by Basundhara Group, one of the country’s leading business conglomerates. In past editions, Rangpur Riders assembled a star cast with Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Brendon McCullum, and AB de Villiers.
Tasvir told The Business Post that it will be tough to get high-profile cricketers this time as the Emirates T20 League and South African T20 League will be happening simultaneously.
“It will be difficult. The Emirates T20 League are allowing nine foreign players, and they are also offering good money. It is difficult for us to match that, but I think in the later part of the BPL, after the ILT20, we can rope in some international stars,” Tasvir said on Tuesday,
While Rangpur Riders are coming back, one of the most illustrious sides in the tournament’s history, Dhaka Dynamites, who are backed by Beximco, will not be participating in the next three editions.
Dhaka Dynamites CEO and BCB director Obaid Nizam confirmed to The Business Post that they have not submitted an EOI this time around.
Comilla Victorians will also not participate in the tournament as they will not be able to secure quality players due to other franchise leagues, their owner Nafisa Kamal told The Business Post.
Chattogram Challengers is a comparatively new entity in the cricket scene. Owned by Akhtar Group, the franchise first appeared in the first edition of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League 2019-20.
Chattogram Challengers took part in the tournament and also participated in the last edition of the Bangabandhu BPL, where they reached the eliminator round. Syed Yasir Alam, CEO of Chattogram Challengers, told The Business Post that they want to go further this time.
“We make stars. We give youngsters room to grow. Look, before we signed Will Jacks, who knew him? Even Benny Howell? Our internal team is already working to spot cricketers for BPL. We are also in talks with a few as pre-draft signing. There are a lot of talented cricketers in the world. Hopefully, we can go further this time,” he said on Tuesday.
Howell and Jacks played important roles for the Challengers in the last BPL. But according to reports, Howell will play in the ILT20 in UAE, while Jacks signed for the South African T20 League.
Sheikh Kudrat E Ibtihaz Joy, Managing Director of the Pragoti Green Auto Rice Mills Limited, the company that owned the Sylhet Sunrisers franchise last season, also told The Business Post that they have already submitted their EOI.
“We are interested to stay in cricket. Earlier, we formed the franchise under the name of Sylhet Sunrisers. This time we would like to go by the name Padma. If BCB permits, we will form the team under the name of Padma. Otherwise, Sylhet,” he told The Business Post.
Mizanur Rahman, chairman of Fortune Group, also confirmed that their team Fortune Barishal will be staying in BPL.
“Yes, initially we were a bit doubtful, but we dropped an EOI before everyone. We are staying,” he told The Business Post.
Fortune Barishal roped in Shakib Al Hasan, Dwayne Bravo, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman in the team last year and became runners-up.
The Business Post also learned that Gemcon Group, the chief financer of Khulna Titans, are not interested in forming a BPL team this time.
