Payment lapses will trigger franchise takeover, BCB cautions

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced on Wednesday that it will assume ownership of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchises if they fail to make their due payments. BCB officials also confirmed that the next BPL will feature six teams, revising their earlier decision to go ahead with five, and are targeting a tournament window from December 19 to January 16.

"I want to be absolutely clear on the process. Originally, 11 teams participated. Two companies were disqualified early because they did not provide a bank draft, check, or any financial instrument. Out of the remaining nine, some provided post-dated checks or pay orders. After giving them time to pay the required 2 Crore Taka for eligibility and completing the integrity checks with local agencies, the BCB Integrity Unit, and the ICC, only five were initially cleared," said Iftekhar Rahman Mithu, the BPL Governing Council secretary.

"However, the Cricketers Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) approached the president and us and requested for a sixth team. This was primarily to ensure that additional 15-16 local players would have the opportunity to play and earn," he said. "While we were moving ahead with five teams because of the financial requirements (10 Crore Taka minimum guarantees), we offered one final opportunity to those still interested. Desh Travels (Noakhali Express) responded by submitting the financial instruments and thus was included."

The six teams awarded BPL franchise rights are:

• Chattogram Royals (Triangle Services)
• Dhaka Capitals (Champion Sports Limited)
• Noakhali Express (Desh Travels)
• Rajshahi Warriors (Nabil Group)
• Rangpur Riders (Toggi Sports)
• Sylhet Titans (JM Sports and Entertainment)

Financial disputes have long been an issue in the BPL, but Iftekhar stressed that franchises failing to make timely payments will face immediate takeover – even mid-tournament. Iftekhar said that while all six teams have provided assurances and made payments in various forms, the BCB remains skeptical about two franchises.

The BCB has asked for BDT 2 Crore as a participation fee and BDT 10 Crore as a bank guarantee. Iftekhar noted that teams failing to meet these requirements in due time will not be allowed to take the field.

"We have given the financial instruments and if they can't abide by it, the cricket board is ready to take over the teams. Any irregularity in integrity, since we want the tournament to be very clean in terms of payment and integrity – if we see any problems, we will take over the team," said Iftekhar.

"If the franchises fail to give money on time BCB will take over the teams, and if that happens at the middle of the tournament we will take over the team at the middle of the tournament," he reiterated.

Iftekhar also informed that Trans Production Technologies (TPT) has been appointed as the production service provider for the tournament. Earlier, Real Impact served as the BPL's production service provider, but the BCB opted for TPT due to its extensive experience. "They (TMT) have a large experience in production and we chose them as the production provider of BPL taking their past record into consideration," said Iftekhar.

Trans Group, along with its production arm TPT, has handled broadcast production for the Asian Cricket Council, Pakistan Cricket Board, Afghanistan Cricket Board, and Emirates Cricket Board, among others. It has also consistently delivered quality productions for the PSL, T10, WCL and will handle the ILT20 as well. It is learnt that the BCB will save around USD 500,000 through this deal.

However, Iftekhar admitted that given the prevailing uncertainties around the BPL, the board is effectively in a "catch-22 situation" and operating in crisis mode. "Look, the situation is not ideal. Definitely it's a tough job. If we had gotten 7-8 months we could have organized everything properly. We are firefighting," he said.