DHAKA, March 9, 2021 (BSS) – The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) is mulling to make the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), a T20 format tournament, this year in a bid to run the league amid tight schedule.
The CCDM will discuss the matter with the 12 participating clubs on Saturday or Sunday and will seek a direction from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after which they will take the final decision regarding this, said its chairman Kazi Inam.
He said the CCDM is trying to run the league in May-June and complete this within a short time, considering the busy International schedule.
The CCDM also mulls that there is also a T20 World Cup in India in next October for which a T20 format DPL could be an ideal preparation.
The DPL was postponed after one round last year following the outbreak of the Covid-19. Kazi Inam, also a director of the BCB, said they would have to figure out a plan to how they can reorganize all the things since the clubs had already made a partial payment to the players.
“Last year, the league was postponed after one round. So the plan is to how we can restart it,” Inam said in a recorded message today after coming out from a meeting in which the BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, the CCDM and Cricket Operations officials were present.
“Our main concern is with the players. More than 200 players participate here in the league. This is the main bread-and-butter for many players. There are a lot of players here who don’t even play first-class cricket. All in all, we thought we would have to find a time when we could have a tournament with the national team players. Because the clubs have signed contracts with the national team players last year. Clubs have also made some payments to cricketers. We will discuss that issue with the clubs,” he added. Inam explained the unavailability of the grounds may force them for a shorter period league.
“We are looking for a window in May-June. And the league may be held in two parts. In that case we may have to consider something. It can also be a format. Before the Dhaka Premier League, we also played one-day tournaments and later T20 tournaments,” he remarked.
“This time if we don’t have enough time or the venue is not available, then maybe we will organize a league in T20 format. Although this issue is still under discussion. We have to sit with the clubs first. We will take the opinion of all the clubs first. Then the board also has a direction. All in all we can go to a specific plan.”