When does it start? Who are the biggest names in attendance? Why the talent jam this year? We’ve got all your questions on BPL 2023 covered./i>
So yet another franchise T20 league…
Yes, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) returns for its ninth edition from January 6. It has seven franchise teams that will play 46 games across three cities – Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet. The final will be played on February 16 in Dhaka. It is one of the earliest-established big-money T20 franchise leagues.
Really?
Indeed, the BPL’s inaugural season dates back to 2012, predating the Caribbean Premier League or the Pakistan Super League. Barring the Indian players, almost every major T20 superstar has played in this tournament at one time or the other.
Like who?
Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Rashid Khan, Dwayne Bravo, Alex Hales and David Warner have all played this tournament. The likes of Jofra Archer, Nicholas Pooran and Mohammad Nabi too played the BPL early in their careers.
Here’s the thing. The BPL moved quite late in acquiring players for this season. It’s quite a busy season with the UAE’s International League T20 and South Africa’s SA20 the new tournaments on the calendar, both clashing with the BPL, and Australia’s Big Bash League running concurrently too. Many of the biggest stars were already snapped up elsewhere by the time the BPL draft came around on November 23.
If the biggest T20 stars are playing elsewhere at the same time, then why should I watch the BPL?
Bangladesh’s biggest T20 stars are all available for the BPL, including Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim, who have all retired from T20Is, will also be on show this tournament.
Bangladesh struggle more often than not in T20I cricket, so feels contradictory that they host a big-money T20 franchise league where so many local players appear every year. But then the BPL franchises rely heavily on overseas players. Domestic cricketers hardly face up to the crunch moments, being mostly kept to bit-part roles. Still, the rare T20 talent is unearthed, like last season when Munim Shahriar showed a glimpse of his big-hitting talent. He was quickly drafted into the T20I side, but is yet to make the step up conclusively.
In total, there have been 27 BPL team owners in nine seasons. Sylhet has had six different owners, while Dhaka has had five, and both will have new ownership this year. Comilla has been around since 2015 although they dropped out for one season in between. The Rajshahi franchise stopped existing since the 2019 season. The constant churn adds to a general feeling of chaos surrounding the tournament.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
Source: ESPN Crickinfo