Concerns over conflict of interest within the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) have resurfaced once again, with reports that several Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) directors have expressed interest in owning franchise teams in the upcoming season.
Questions about potential conflicts have surrounded the BPL since its inception, particularly as a number of BCB officials have previously been closely linked to franchise ownership or management. During Nazmul Hasan Papon’s tenure as BCB president, such issues were largely overlooked.
At that time, Beximco owned the Dhaka Dynamites franchise, while Nazmul Hasan served as the managing director of Beximco Pharmaceuticals and BCB director Ismail Haider Mallick was an executive officer at the same company. Another former director, Abdul Awal Chowdhury, was associated with Barisal Bulls ownership from 2015, while Kazi Inam Ahmed, a BCB director and executive at the Gemcon Group, was linked with Khulna Titans. Inam also served as chairman of the BCB’s marketing and commercial committee.
Ahead of the upcoming BPL season, the issue has re-emerged, with several BCB directors reportedly showing interest in acquiring franchises. Akashbari Holiday has shown interest in purchasing the Barishal franchise, Nabil Group has applied for Rajshahi, and Bangla Mark has applied for Noakhali. All three companies are connected to sitting BCB directors.
The BCB has stated that any director involved in franchise ownership must resign from the BPL governing council and will not be invited to related meetings.
BCB vice-president Shakawat Hossain confirmed the new measures, saying, “This time, we will take indemnity from all directors. Everyone will have to submit a self-declaration stating whether they are directly or indirectly involved with any team. If anyone in the governing council is found to be associated with a franchise, they must resign from the council.”
BCB director Iftikhar Rahman Mithu, referring to similar issues in the Indian Premier League (IPL), expressed optimism that the upcoming BPL will avoid such conflicts. “If you look at the IPL, even their president once owned a team,” he said. “Self-declaration means that everyone will declare their associations. If anyone is involved with a team, they will not be part of the governing body or related meetings.”
The BCB has confirmed that written declarations will be collected from directors once the franchises for the new BPL season are finalised.
