Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is scheduled to begin on January 17 despite the fact of non-payment to players in the league's first edition.
The first step towards the second edition will be completed when the players’ auction takes place on December 20, once again with the unavailability of the Indian players, while the seventh franchise will be selected through negotiations the name of which will be announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in a day or two.
“We’re hopeful of starting the second edition on January 17 through a colourful opening ceremony and begin the matches from the next day,” Afzalur Rahman Sinha, chairman of the BPL governing council, told reporters in the capital Dhaka on Friday.
He also said event management company Game On is carrying out the work to get a seventh franchise and they would inform about the outcome on Saturday.
However, the BPL governing council is yet to sign any agreements with the franchises but was confident of doing so before the players’ auction starts.
Dhaka Gladiators, Barisal Burners, Chittagong Kings, Sylhet Royals, Khulna Royal Bengals and Duranto Rajshahi were the six franchises that participated in the first edition of the BPL.
Nazmul Hassan Papon, president of the BCB, said that while the financial disputes haven't seen a clear cut solution, majority of the problems have been resolved.
"One of the biggest problems during the previous edition was that Game On, the franchises and the players didn't have much to do with the BCB. Whether people agreed to the rules or not, whether the players got paid or not, we didn't have any control over anything since there weren't any written agreements between the parties. We didn't have a clear cut agreement and therefore couldn't take any action," Papon noted.
He also said the payments of the local players will be made by December 30.
The matches will be played at three venues – Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Chittagong’s MA Aziz Stadium along with the latest inclusion of Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.
BBN/SSR/AD-15Dec12-12:40 pm (BST)
