The next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will be played between five teams in a compact window from mid-December to mid-January, BPL GC secretary Iftikhar Rahman Mithu said on Saturday.
BANGLADESH PREMIER LEAGUE
Next edition of BPL to have only five teams
The Expression of Interest (EOI) will be announced for the teams on Sunday © Getty
Iftikhar told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium that the decision was taken due to time constraints ahead of next year's ICC T20 World Cup.
"The board has decided to host the BPL from mid-December to mid-January," said Iftekhar. "Given the short window we have this year, we are comfortable with five teams. That doesn't mean it can't be six or seven in the future, but our priority is to stage a five-team BPL within a one-month window," he said.
"We have to finish in the month of January. The window he mentioned, we have to finish before the February World Cup," he said. "I am not saying that it cannot be six or seven but at this point we are comfortable running it with five teams in this one-month window. So, our priority is the first five teams. We are starting fresh this year. The Expression of Interest (EOI) will be announced tomorrow.
It is possible that reigning BPL champions Fortune Barishal will not take part in next edition of BPL. Tamim Iqbal, who is leading the Fortune Barishal side, recently announced that