Bangladesh Premier League

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ প্রিমিয়ার লীগ) is a professional cricket league consisting of seven franchises. The BPL is one of the three professional cricket leagues in Bangladesh. It is the 16th most attended premier league in the world. In November each team face each other twice in the league stage. Following the conclusion of the regular season, top four teams advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination game and two qualifier games culminating in the Championship game, between the winner of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.

Bangladesh Premier League
CountriesBangladesh
AdministratorBCB
FormatTwenty20
First edition2012
Latest edition2019–20
Next edition2021
Tournament formatRound-robin and Playoffs
Number of teams7
Current championRajshahi Royals (1st title)
Most successfulFranchise of Dhaka (3 titles)
Most runsMushfiqur Rahim (2274)
Most wicketsShakib Al Hasan (106)
TVList of broadcasters
WebsiteBPL

The Bangladesh Premier League was formed in 2011 by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, after the suspension of its predecessor organisation, 2009/10 National Cricket League Twenty20. The first season was held during February 2012, and the games were held across Dhaka and Chittagong. The BPL is headed by the chairman of its Governing Council.

The team with the most BPL titles are Dhaka Dynamites with three titles, including two consecutive titles during the first two seasons of the tournament as Dhaka Gladiators. Comilla Victorians, Rangpur Riders and Rajshahi Royals are the only other teams to be crowned champions. The current champions are Rajshahi Royals, who defeated Khulna Tigers in BPL Season 7.

The 2020 version of BPL was meant to be held without franchise involvement, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) arranging the tournament. The decision came after the meeting between BCB and franchises owners whereas BCB failed to meet the demand placed by different team owners.[1] In October 2020, the BCB confirmed that there would not be another tournament in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

History

Following the success of franchise Twenty20 cricket leagues such as the Indian Premier League around the world, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a plan to replace the National Cricket League with a franchise based league. On 18 January 2012 the board entered a 6-year, 350-crore deal with Game on Sports Group to establish a franchise tournament. The deal gave the group exclusive management rights to the tournament. The league was founded with six franchises from the largest cities of Bangladesh. During the franchise auction 13 companies took part in the bidding process, with six winning the rights of each clubs.

The first edition of the league officially kicked off on 9 February 2012, excluding a lavish opening ceremony at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.[3] The initial player auction was held on 18 and 19 January 2012 and the first match in the tournament staged on 9 February 2012 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium between Sylhet Royals and Barisal Burners. The first final game was between Dhaka Gladiators and Barisal Burners, with Dhaka Gladiators emerging as champions after winning by eight wickets. All matches in the first edition of the league were held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the country's second-largest city Chittagong.

Rangpur Riders were added as a seventh team for the second season. Dhaka Gladiators again emerged as champions beating Chittagong Kings in the final by 43 runs. Once again Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka hosted the final and most of the matches while the MA Aziz Stadium replaced the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong due to higher capacity and Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna (third-largest city) was added as the third venue.

Following accusations of match fixing during the 2012–13 season, the owners of all six original franchises were suspended in 2013 due to constant violations of the league regulations and constant delays in players’ salary handover. The owners of Dhaka Gladiators were handed a lifetime suspension by the governing committee.[4] A number of players and administrators were handed bans for match fixing, including the former captain of Bangladesh, Mohammad Ashraful.

Following the match fixing scandal, the league was not played in the year 2014. It returned in the 2015 with six new franchises and it was held in the winter season unlike Spring previously. Comilla Victorians won the competition, beating Barisal Bulls by three wickets. In advance of the 2016–17 edition of the league one franchise, the Sylhet Super Stars, was suspended following breaches of disciplinary regulations[5] and two new franchises, Khulna Titans and Rajshahi Kings, were introduced, bringing the number of teams in the competition back to seven.

In the 2016 edition, Dhaka Dynamites won the tournament for the third time by defeating Rajshahi Kings in the final.

In the 2017–18 edition of the league, the Sylhet franchise returned as the Sylhet Sixers with new ownership and management. As a result, the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium was also listed as a third venue. Barisal Bulls franchise was suspended due to financial mishaps.

2019-20 special edition

In September 2019, BCB President Nazmul Hasan Papon informed the media about certain changes in rules and regulations for the 2019–20 season and eliminating all franchises, BCB took over the charge and decided to run this tournament by the board itself and named the tournament as Bangabandhu BPL T20 2019 in order to pay homage to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birth centenary.[6][7]

Rajshahi Royals defeated Khulna Tigers by 21 runs in the final match. Royals skipper Andre Russell was elected as both Man of the match for final and Player of the Tournament for his all-round performances and leading his side for their maiden BPL title.[8][9]

League organisation

Locations of Bangladesh Premier League teams

At a corporate level, the Bangladesh Premier League considers itself an association made up of and financed by its member teams. All income generated through television rights, licensing agreements, sponsorship, ticket sales and other means is earned and shared between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the participating franchises. The league is controlled by a Governing Council (GC). As the parent organisation, the Bangladesh Cricket Board appoints the GC's members.

As of the 2018–19 season, the league consists of seven franchises. Each team players every other team twice in the round-robin stage of the competition with the teams with the top 4 advancing to a series of play-off matches. These lead to a championship match in which the league champion is decided.

Barisal and Mymensingh are the only divisions in the country to not have any representative franchise in the league.

Team City Owner Debut Current Captain Current Coach
Chattogram ChallengersChittagong, Chittagong DivisionNone[lower-alpha 1]2012MahmudullahPaul Nixon
Cumilla WarriorsComilla, Chittagong DivisionNafisa Kamal, Mustafa Kamal, Legends Sporting Limited[lower-alpha 1]2015Soumya SarkarOttis Gibson
Dhaka PlatoonDhaka, Dhaka DivisionSalman F Rahman, Shayan F Rahman, BEXIMCO[lower-alpha 1]2012Mashrafe MortazaMohammad Salahuddin
Khulna TigersKhulna, Khulna DivisionGemcon Group[lower-alpha 1]2012Mushfiqur RahimJames Foster
Rajshahi Royals Rajshahi, Rajshahi DivisionMango Entertainment[lower-alpha 1]2012Andre RussellOwais Shah
Rangpur RangersRangpur, Rangpur DivisionAhmed Akbar Sobhan, Safwan Sobhan, Bashundhara Group[lower-alpha 1]2013Shane WatsonMark O'Donnell
Sylhet ThunderSylhet, Sylhet DivisionAbul Maal Abdul Muhith, Shahed Muhith, Sylhet Sports Limited[lower-alpha 1]2012Andre FletcherHerschelle Gibbs
Defunct team
Barisal BullsBarisal, Barisal DivisionNone2012–2017N/AN/A

Draft system

The BPL operates a draft system to assign players to teams. New players can be chosen by franchises during an annual draft. Teams can also choose to retain players from one year to the next and players can also be signed outside of the draft and traded between organisations. Since 2015, Imago Sports Management has been conducting the players draft event also is the official players management partner of Bangladesh Cricket Board for Bangladesh Premier League[10][11]

Tournament results

Statistics

Results[12]
Season Final venue Final Teams Man of the Tournament
Winner Result Runner-up
2012
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Dhaka Gladiators
144/2 (15.4 overs)
Dhaka Gladiators won by 8 wickets
Scorecard
Barisal Burners
140/7 (20 overs)
6 Shakib Al Hasan
(Khulna Royal Bengals)
2012–13
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Dhaka Gladiators
172–9 (20 overs)
Dhaka Gladiators won by 43 runs
Scorecard
Chittagong Kings
129 (16.5 overs)
7 Shakib Al Hasan
(Dhaka Gladiators)
2015–16
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Comilla Victorians
157/7 (20 overs)
Comilla Victorians won by 3 wickets
Scorecard
Barisal Bulls
156/4 (20 overs)
6 Ashar Zaidi
(Comilla Victorians)
2016–17
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Dhaka Dynamites
159/9 (20 overs)
Dhaka Dynamites won by 56 runs
Scorecard
Rajshahi Kings
103 (17.4 overs)
7 Mahmudullah
(Khulna Titans)
2017–18
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Rangpur Riders
206/1 (20 overs)
Rangpur Riders won by 57 runs Scorecard Dhaka Dynamites
149/9 (20 overs)
7 Chris Gayle
(Rangpur Riders)
2018–19
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Comilla Victorians
199/3 (20 overs)
Comilla Victorians won by 17 runs
Scorecard
Dhaka Dynamites
182/9 (20 overs)
7 Shakib Al Hasan
(Dhaka Dynamites)
2019–20
Details
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur Rajshahi Royals
170/4 (20 overs)
Rajshahi Royals won by 21 runs
Scorecard
Khulna Tigers
149/8 (20 overs)
7 Andre Russell (Rajshahi Royals)

Overall team performances

Records include all matches played under the name of a franchise, even where the franchise has been suspended and re-created as a new organisation.

Overall team performances[13]
TeamMatchWinLoss Tied Tied+W Tied+L NRWin%
Chattogram Challengers863946010046.51%
Cumilla Warriors643726010059.38%
Dhaka Platoon925537000059.78%
Khulna Tigers753440001046.67%
Rajshahi Royals784038000051.28%
Rangpur Rangers774037000051.94%
Sylhet Thunder692445000034.78%
Barisal Bulls492425001048.98%
Last Updated: 18 January 2020

Overall team standings

Season wise team standings[12]
Season
(No. Of Teams)
2012
(6)
2013
(7)
2015
(6)
2016
(7)
2017
(7)
2019
(7)
2019-20
(7)
Chattogram Challengers 5th R 6th 4th 7th 4th 3rd
Cumilla Warriors DNP C 6th 3rd C 5th
Dhaka Platoon C 4th C R 4th
Khulna Tigers 4th 7th DNP 3rd 4th 7th R
Rajshahi Royals 3rd 4th R 6th 5th C
Rangpur Rangers DNP 5th 3rd 5th C 3rd 6th
Sylhet Thunder 6th 3rd 5th DNP 5th 6th 7th
Barisal Bulls R 5th R 7th DNP

Team performances

Team performances[12][13]
TeamsSpanChampion(s)Runner–up(s)AppearancesPlayoffsLeague Stage
Dhaka Platoon2012 – present3 (2012, 2013, 2016)2 (2017, 2019)72 (2015, 2019–20)0
Cumilla Warriors2015 – present2 (2015, 2019)051 (2017)2 (2016, 2019–20)
Rajshahi Royals2012 – present1 (2019–20)1 (2016)62 (2012, 2013)2 (2017, 2019)
Rangpur Rangers2013 – present1 (2017)062 (2015, 2019)3 (2013, 2016, 2019–2020)
Barisal Bulls2012 – 201602 (2012, 2015)402 (2013, 2016)
Chattogram Challengers2012 – present01 (2013)73 (2016, 2019, 2019–20)3 (2012, 2015, 2017)
Khulna Tigers2012 – present01 (2019–20)63 (2012, 2016, 2017)2 (2013, 2019)
Sylhet Thunder2012 – present0061 (2013)5 (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2019–2020)

Sponsorship

For the first season of the tournament, Bangladeshi conglomerate Destiny Group was the main sponsor of the tournament, negotiating a one-year sponsorship package for 75 million taka (US$1.0 million). Prime Bank Limited was awarded with the sponsorship deal for the second season for 100 million taka (US$1.5 million). BRB Cables Limited held the sponsorship rights for third season in 2015 with 150 million taka (US$2.0 million). Abul Khair Steel (AKS), a sister concern group of Abul Khair Industries Limited became the title sponsor of the fourth and fifth edition.

Season Sponsorship Rights Gross Revenues Earned[14] Broadcasting Rights
2012 Destiny Group
7.5 crore (US$890,000)
354.7 crore (US$42 million) Channel Nine
632 crore (US$75 million)
four-year broadcasting rights (2012–16)[15]
2013 Prime Bank Limited
10 crore (US$1.2 million)
302 crore (US$36 million)
2015–16 BRB Cables Industries Limited
15 crore (US$1.8 million)
266.5 crore (US$32 million)
2016–17 Abul Khair Steel (AKS) and Shah Cement
22 crore (US$2.6 million)
433 crore (US$51 million) (2016–17)
Unpublished GTV and Maasranga
640 crore (US$76 million)
three-year broadcasting rights (2017–2019)[16]
2019–present United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB) and TVS Motor Company
Akash DTH and TVS Motor Company TBD

Broadcasters

Territory Years Television Online
 Bangladesh 2017–present GTV
Maasranga
YouTube on Rabbitholebd
 Caribbean islands 2017–present Flow Sports
 India 2019–present DSport
 Middle East and North Africa 2018–present CRICINGIF
 Pakistan 2017–present Geo Super YouTube on Rabbitholebd
 Sub-Saharan Africa 2016–present StarTimes
 South Korea
 Japan
 China
 Russia
2017–present Ticon System Ltd.
 Southeast Asia 2016–present SportsFix
 United Kingdom 2017–present Star Gold Hotstar
 United States
 Canada
2017–present Willow
 Rest of the world 2019–present YouTube on Rabbitholebd

See also

Notes

  1. The ownerships of all teams were temporarily held by the Bangladesh Cricket Board during the 2019–20 season

References

  1. "BCB set to arrange BPL without the franchises this year". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  2. "No Bangladesh Premier League in 2020, confirms BCB chief". CricBuzz. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  3. "Afridi and Gayle fetch highest BPL prices". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  4. Pieal, Jannatul. "Rangpur cleared to bid again, BPL-3 may see eight teams". bdcricteam.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  5. Eighty-five players picked in BPL 2016–17 draft, ESPNcricinfo, 30 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  6. "BCB to conduct T20 tournament instead of BPL after fallout with franchises". Cricbuzz. 11 September 2019.
  7. বিসিবিই চালাবে বিপিএল, থাকছে না কোনো ফ্র্যাঞ্চাইজি. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 11 September 2019.
  8. বিপিএলের রাজা রাজশাহী. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. "Andre Russell's Rajashi Royals clinch maiden BPL trophy". The Indian Express. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  10. "BPL 2015 players draft". Imagosports. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  11. "The business of sports". Dhaka Tribune. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  12. "Cricket Records | Bangladesh Premier League | Records | Series results". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. "Cricket Records | Bangladesh Premier League | Records | Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  14. "How Much Did BCB Earn from BPL?". The Bengali Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  15. Isam, Mohammad. "BCB sells worldwide media rights for $20.02 million". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  16. বিপিএল-এর সম্প্রচার স্বত্ব ৮১ কোটিতে বিক্রি. anandabazar.com. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
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