BPL T20 League cancelled by Bangladesh after heavy financial losses

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will not be held this year as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) plans to restructure the troubled T20 competition, BCB president Tamim Iqbal said on Thursday (Aug 20). The decision comes after several financial and administrative issues affected the league, including franchise rule violations, corruption allegations, unpaid payments and problems with bank guarantees.

The BPL is one of the oldest and most popular T20 leagues, but the tournament has faced growing uncertainty in recent years. The 2025 edition was criticised for poor scheduling and logistical issues. Several players also went unpaid for an extended period, while a brief player strike added to the problems.

“The BPL will not happen this year,” Tamim told reporters, saying the board needed to solve the existing issues before bringing the tournament back.

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Tamim revealed that the BCB has suffered losses of around $3.3 million (approximately INR 31 crore) from the BPL over the last two years. He said the league’s financial structure must be improved before another season is organised.

“The BPL is a great product and there is a lot of interest in it. If we can do it properly, the interest will increase even more,” Tamim said.

“BCB is supposed to make a profit from franchise cricket, not a loss. So until we fix this, holding a tournament at a loss is not important,” he added.

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The former Bangladesh captain made it clear that the decision to skip this year’s tournament does not mean the BCB is ending the BPL. Instead, the board will use the extra time to build a stronger and more sustainable system.

“Our intention is 1,000 percent to host BPL. But I do not want to rush. I want to do it properly; if it takes six months or 12 months, I will take that time,” he added.

Tamim made the comments after being appointed chairman of the International Cricket Council’s newly formed Franchise League Committee. He said Bangladesh’s plans to rebuild the BPL could also provide an example for franchise cricket worldwide.

“If franchise cricket does not run properly in my country, then stopping it, and rebuilding it, will be a big message for my committee,” he said.

The BCB has already started talks with the current franchises and expects to complete the franchise process by Apr or May next year. The longer timeline will also give the board the opportunity to consider new teams if any existing franchise fails to meet its financial obligations.

Tamim also said the BCB could explore the possibility of bringing foreign franchises into the BPL as part of the restructuring process.