The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided that from the next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), franchise owners will no longer be allowed to change their team names, in a move aimed at building long-term brand identity for each side.
Confirming the development, BCB vice-president Shakawat Hossain said the board itself will now determine and trademark the names of all participating teams. “Many have wanted to change their team names, such as Fortune Barishal,” Shakawat said. “From now on, the board will fix the names and trademark them so that no one can change them later. Whoever takes ownership of a franchise must do so under that name.”
He added that the decision was made to strengthen the BPL’s branding and identity. “This is about creating a brand. We do not want situations where the Dhaka team is called Dhaka Capitals one day and Dhaka Riders another. We want consistency so that five, ten, or even twenty years from now, the same names and their brand value remain,” he said.
Since its inaugural season in 2012, the BPL has seen numerous ownership and name changes. The first edition featured Barisal Burners, Chittagong Kings, Dhaka Gladiators, Khulna Royal Bengals, Duronto Rajshahi and Sylhet Royals. In later years, new teams such as Comilla Victorians and Rangpur Riders joined the league. Of the original franchises, only Chittagong’s side has continued, though it has competed under various names including Vikings and Challengers.
The trend of frequent rebranding has been widespread. The Dhaka franchise, for example, has appeared as the Gladiators, Dynamites, Minister Group Dhaka, Dhaka Platoon, Durdanto Dhaka and Dhaka Capitals. Barisal have played as the Burners, Bulls and Fortune Barishal, while Sylhet have competed under names such as Super Stars, Sixers, Thunder, Sunrisers and Strikers. Khulna’s team has alternated between the Royal Bengals, Titans and Tigers, and Rajshahi’s side has been known as Duronto Rajshahi, Rajshahi Kings and Durbar Rajshahi.
Only Rangpur Riders have maintained the same name throughout their participation and are expected to continue under that identity in the next edition.
The BCB hopes that fixing the team names will help the franchises establish stronger recognition and stability, similar to those in other major global T20 leagues.
As part of preparations for the next five BPL seasons, the board recently invited tenders for franchise ownership. Before the 28 October deadline, 11 companies expressed interest in acquiring rights for nine franchises. However, no bids were submitted for Mymensingh. Rajshahi and Chattogram each received two applications, while current champions Fortune Barishal opted not to take part.
