BPL may be postponed to 2022: Mallick

Although the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been looking into two prospective windows later this year, board director and the member secretary of the Bangladesh Premier League governing council Ismail Haider Mallick said the upcoming edition of the franchise-based tournament may not be held this year.

The seventh edition of the BPL was held in January 2020 and amidst talks of hosting two editions of the BPL in the same year. Instead, the BCB arranged a T20 tournament in the form of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup as sport began to re-emerge after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We have to look at the calendar to tell whether the BPL is going to happen or not [this year]. So far we have two open windows. The first in November but during that time we are supposed to tour Pakistan [according to the ICC Future Tours Programme]," Mallick said.

"We have another slot in December but even then, New Zealand are most probably arriving in Bangladesh during that period. So, for those reasons, the BPL might be postponed and start in January 2022."

He added: "The BPL not happening this year sounds negative. I would rather say that it's not taking place in this edition."

The board officials and directors have recently been busy forming a long-term cricket calendar and according to the influential director, the BCB wanted national cricketers in the BPL in line with the demands of the spectators.

"We are planning to finalise a calendar for the next five years. Keeping the busy upcoming schedule of the national team in mind, it will cause many national cricketers to be unable to participate in the National Cricket Legaue, Bangladesh Cricket League and even the Dhaka Premier League. We will try so that national players can take part in the BPL and we are considering that in forming the calendar," Mallick concluded.

Source- TheDailyStar