The start of the Bangladesh Premier League has been delayed by a week, with organisers opting to shift both the opening ceremony and the first match to allow franchises more time to prepare. The curtain-raiser, originally scheduled for 17 December at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, will now take place on 24 December. As a result, the tournament’s opening fixture in Sylhet has also moved from 19 December to 26 December.
The adjustment has been made primarily to give franchises enough time to complete logistical and squad preparations, including the purchase of essential playing equipment such as bats, pads and other cricket gear. With several teams still finalising their arrangements, the extra week is intended to ease pressure ahead of the new season.
Despite the change in schedule, the BPL player auction will proceed as planned on 30 November. The player list is close to finalised, featuring more than 500 overseas registrations, from which around 250 will make the final cut for the auction.
Franchises may register as many overseas players as they wish, though only four can feature in a match. Each team must sign at least two overseas players from the auction and build a roster of at least 12 local cricketers. The salary bands for local players range from 50 lakh taka in category A to 11 lakh in category F.
So far, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed are among those already contracted directly by franchises, with several others expected to join before the auction.
