Many local cricketers risk missing out on the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tournament because of certain restrictions in the rules, cricket officials said. The BPL governing council published the name of 122 local cricketers for the six-team tournament, slated for November 22 to December 15. Officials said that the number of local players could reach 130 before the players’ lottery on October 26 after few more adjustments.
But not everyone will be lucky to get a team as one franchise will be allowed to register a maximum of 13 local players. It means maximum 78 local players will get a team and the rest will remain unsold.
The number could be even go less as team can also escape with signing 10 local cricketers, which is the minimum.
On the other hand, a team will be allowed to sign as many as 12 foreign cricketers. It created a chance for the foreign players to outweigh the local players during the tournament.
According to the draft rules, prepared by the BPL technical committee, a team must deploy at least four foreign cricketers in a match, an obligation that independent analysts said will encourage team to register as many foreign players as possible.
BPL technical committee member Khaled Mahmud said on Saturday they kept the number of registered local players limited to ease the burden of franchises.
‘We will allow maximum 15 to 18 players in the dugout during a match,’ Mahmud told New Age. ‘So there is no point for them to register so many players. It will only increase their budget.’
Mahmud added that they are likely to relax some financial regulations for the team as well, as teams are now dealing with the foreign players in individual capacity.
It was earlier stated that a team will be allowed to spend only a certain amount on players, closer to Tk five to six crore in order to keep the tournament free from payment dispute.
However, with some international superstars demanding a huge fee, officials said it has become difficult for them to set a cap on spending.
The BPL authority also relaxed the rule of foreign players’ signing in individual capacity.
Initially it was planned that a team would be allowed to sign maximum three foreign players outside the lottery system, but the number has now been increased to nine.
That made it almost impossible for the teams to keep their budget limited to a stipulated amount, though technical committee member Mahmud reiterated that they will not take any responsibility beyond the $70,000 amount for any foreign player.
In another significant policy change, the BPL authority also decided to hold the lottery for six icon players – Sakib al Hasan, Mashrfee bin Murtaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain.
Earlier it was announced that the icon players would be distributed to different franchises through mutual agreement and they will get the opportunity to give their input during players’ lottery.
‘I don’t think we can stick to this policy,’ said Mahmud. ‘Everybody wants Sakib in their team, so we are most likely going to hold a lottery for them. This could be held before the players’ lottery on October 26,’ he said.
-With New Age input
