Bangladesh's BBL-style league unable to find sponsors: Report

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is ready to release any amount of money for hosting the upcoming edition of the  Bangladesh Premier League. BCB had postponed the franchise-based BPL earlier after team owners of the franchises faced issues with the board, which found no solution as it considered their demands to be unreasonable. Now, they are set to host a T20 tournament similar on the lines of Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) as all the teams will be owned by the board itself.

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However, recent media reports claim that the BCB could already not find it economically viable to host the same. The BCB is unlikely to make substantial money since it is expected to earn around TK 46.61 crores (Rs. 39.14 crore) if it had remained been a franchise-based tournament like the IPL. They were likely to earn TK 36.60 crore (Rs. 30.74 crore) from broadcast, title and in-stadia, official sponsorship rights and ticket selling, while the rest of the money was expected to be generated from the franchises as participation fees.

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Sponsorship crisis for BCB

None of the sponsors, who have shown interest in the new model of BPL edition, are ready to pay TK 5 crore (Rs. 4.2 crore) as sponsorship fees, citing how it would just be a one-year affair. They have requested the board to reduce the amount for the sponsorship deal.

Broadcasters are also in the negotiation process to buy the rights, so it seems unlikely that BCB will earn similar to the franchise-based BPL, which had started in 2012 and went on for six editions before ending in 2018.

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BCB President's statement:

When asked if this edition of BCB would be economically viable, BCB president Nazmul Hasan stated that they were not thinking about profits this time around and termed the occasion as special because it is the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the first President of Bangladesh). He said that this Bangabandhu Cup is dedicated to him and as a result, there should be no question of making profits.

He said that they were looking for new players and that is why they were doing some experiments as part of their long term plan. They were going to experiment till 2020 and then make a solid team for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup so it is necessary to start the process now.

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