BPL to be put on hold as BCB moves to rework tournament

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will not be held in the 2026-27 season as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) works to overhaul the tournament after years of financial losses, rule violations and problems with franchises, BCB President Tamim Iqbal said today (20 August).

"I do not think so. BPL is not happening this year," he told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur when asked about the upcoming season.

Tamim said the BCB had lost about Tk40 crore over the past two years while dealing with problems involving franchises. He said the board should be making money from franchise cricket, not losing it.

"Until we fix this, doing a tournament at a loss is not important," he said.

The decision, the BCB chief said, was meant to give the board time to fix the competition rather than rush into another season with the same problems, noting that the process could take six to 12 months, if necessary.

Tamim, who is also chairman of the ICC's franchise cricket committee, said Bangladesh needs to run its own franchise tournament properly.

"If my own country's franchise cricket is not running properly, stopping it and rebuilding it will be a big message for my committee," he said.

The BCB president said he can quickly put together five teams but will not do so simply to hold the tournament.

"What is important to me is fair cricket and maintaining the dignity of the BCB," he said, adding that he was prepared to face criticism over the decision.

The absence of the BPL will hurt players financially, Tamim acknowledged. He said he will have been disappointed in their position but argued that the tournament needs to be put on a sound footing.

The BCB plans to complete the franchise selection and other institutional processes by April-May, with the aim of bringing back the BPL under a long-term model next year.