The Bangladesh Cricket Board is set to again defer the scheduled start of the overdue Dhaka Premier League after clubs demanded it be shifted from September 3, an official of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis said on Friday. Though the clubs agreed to participate in the newly-introduced Player’s By Choice auction on August 25 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium as scheduled, they argued that they needed some time for team coordination.
‘The date will be changed for the DPL,’ said Hanif Bhuiyan, vice-president of the CCDM, after a meeting with the clubs on Friday.
‘We are hopeful to announce the new date when the Player’s By Choice auction take place,’ he said.
This will be the fifth time the DPL date has been deferred after it was originally scheduled to begin in March, a date which was
opposed by several clubs as national team players were busy with their international commitments.
It was learned that the clubs have been promised grants, though the amount is expected to be low because the cost of team formation has decreased substantially after the newly-introduced player transfer system.
Earlier, BCB president Nazmul Hassan reportedly promised to provide each club a cash grant of no less than Tk 40 lakh, something the clubs had received in the previous season, albeit for releasing their players to participate in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Earlier, the clubs had demanded the same Tk 40 Lakh, but now they have agreed to lower their demand to Tk25 lakh, which the president has agreed to pay, an official revealed on the condition of anonymity.
-With New Age input
