Unfinished DPL will resume as T20 tournament

The unfinished season of the Dhaka Premier Cricket League from last year is set to resume in May and will be held in two windows. Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) in a meeting with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and club representatives reached the decision to resume the season which got suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.

 The meeting also came to the decision to play the 50-over tournament as T20 format this time to fit in the small windows that are available. CCDM chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed informed that the clubs and the players have agreed to the decision and that there will be other adjustments including that of the players’ payment.

“We had a meeting today (Sunday) with the 12 premier league clubs. The main challenge for us is the window as you know we have a packed international schedule. So, we will have the tournament in two parts, the first beginning on May 6 for six days and in the second part we will have a window for 15 days. We can add another three days to the first window to start with,” said Inam to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.

“We spoke to the clubs and have reached the decision to complete this league in T20 format. We had played the first round matches (in 50-over format) last year and those will now be abandoned. The players signed by the clubs last year will remain the same to their respective teams given the clubs had made around 30 to 40 percent of their total payment to the players. This tournament will be played as a league which involves Super League and Relegation,” said the BCB director. 

The matches will be played at Mirpur and the two grounds available at BKSP. Given the format is now T20, six matches will be played in three venues each day.

The recommendation to adjust the players’ payment has come from both the clubs and the players. CCDM chief Inam informed the players have been strongly requesting to resume the season and if need be they are happy to sacrifice a portion of their match fee understanding the tough time clubs had financially due to the pandemic.

“We had discussion with CWAB (Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh) and the players. We are doing this league for the players as they wanted it to be held anyhow and if needed, adjust a bit of their remuneration.

“The clubs have their opinion too; they have suffered financially due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is understandable that there won’t be much response from the sponsors. We will take all facts into account and discuss with board president (Nazmul Hasan) and the board to the kind of adjustment we will come to,” Inam explained. 

The cricketers are set to receive the Covid-19 vaccine ahead of the 22nd National Cricket League, four-day cricket tournament, set to start later this month. This way it covers the health safety concerns during the Dhaka League.   

Inam speaking of the vaccine said, “We had already applied to the NSC (National Sports Council) for vaccines for the cricketers and we already got the directives. We also took the names from the clubs as all players are below 40 years. We hope everyone will get the vaccine and we will ensure other health safety measures required.”