With the national elections and the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled for February, the board will have just about a one-month window to stage the tournament. Due to the limited time frame, BCB is considering holding the BPL with five teams this season.
“We plan to organize a quality BPL and not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Mithu said.
“Previously, we faced difficulties with several team owners, and we want to avoid that this time. Our initial target is to hold the players’ draft between November 16 and 18. Before that, we’ll give franchises around 15 days to prepare. By the 30th, we aim to finalize the team ownerships. Whether there will be five or six teams is still under discussion, but even with five teams, it won’t be an issue. Our goal is to start the BPL by December 20.”
The BPL Governing Council held another meeting on Tuesday night to discuss key issues, including franchise ownership criteria and prerequisites for team participation.
The final list of teams is yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, BCB Media Committee Chairman Amzad Hossain revealed that the franchise fee will be set at BDT 2 crore, along with a bank guarantee. Each franchise must provide a six-month bank guarantee of BDT 10 crore before the tournament.
Thirty percent of the profits from media rights, ground rights, and ticket sales will be shared with the franchises. The prize money has also been finalized, this year’s BPL champion will receive BDT 2.75 crore, while the runners-up will take home BDT 1.75 crore.
“To attract franchises, we’ve introduced a revenue-sharing model,” Amzad explained. “Apart from prize money, 30 percent of the net profit from worldwide media rights, ground rights, and ticket sales will be distributed among the franchises.”
Additionally, franchises will be allowed to display their sponsors’ advertisements on the stadium’s perimeter boards during matches.
“We plan to allocate equal time for both teams during matches,” Amzad added. “Each team will get around 30 percent of the perimeter board display time, roughly 30 minutes during a full T20 game. This will help franchises promote their sponsors without any additional cost.”
