Bangladesh Premier League 2019: T20 cricket tourney's wacky rules!

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which was taken over by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) from privately-owned franchises, has set some wacky rules for the upcoming edition of the tournament. Each of the seven sides of the league must mandatorily have an overseas pacer who can consistently bowl over 140 kmph. Additionally, each team will have a wrist spinner in their squad to compulsorily complete his quota of four overs in a match, according to BCB director Mahbubul Anam.

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BCB Director on players' remuneration

Anam's co-director in the BCB and former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud has also reportedly assured that the board will try to match the fees that players receive for T20 Internationals. He also claims that it was important to remember that even if a top domestic player participates in all the BPL matches, the fees he will earn will still be well short of what he would earn in previous editions of the tournament due to private investors owning franchises. Other rules that have been put into motion are that each team must also have an overseas coach, physiotherapist and trainer. Local coaches are supposed to work only as assistants to the head coaches. It is also mandatory for each team to appoint a BCB director as the team director.

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Why have these rules been set?

Anam adds that these rules have been set by the Bangladesh team management to make its younger players more competitive and ready to play at the international level. BCB is aiming to improve the skillset and mindset of Bangladesh’s cricketers by providing bowlers and batsmen with enough opportunities, which were not possible in the franchise-based BPL earlier. According to a leading media publication, BCB has received around 390 registrations from players to be included in the draft. There also have been requests put in by several coaches. BCB can bring overseas players from outside the draft as well but paying them high salaries might result in a conflict with the domestic players as the BCB is focused more on uplifting local talent.

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