Even after the deadline was extended, not a single franchise managed to submit the full 10-crore bank guarantee, and now the auction date has been pushed back once again.
Every year, the BPL faces various irregularities once the tournament begins, with numerous complaints surfacing. But this time, the storm has arrived even before the first ball is bowled. Despite extending the deadline, one franchise still hasn’t deposited the full 10-crore bank guarantee. Rumors and uncertainty are now swirling around the future of this year’s tournament. Amid all this chaos, the auction has been delayed yet again.
The auction has now been moved seven days from the original date to November 30.
But with the repeated deadline extensions for bank guarantees, the back-and-forth negotiations, and the wait-and-see approach, questions are piling up around the auction itself.
The BCB claims the new date was set “to ensure smoother coordination among stakeholders and to make the auction process more organized.” But behind the scenes, the reality seems different. Every time a deadline passes, the governing council waits, then extends it again, and still gets no results—showing just how dependent they have become on the franchises.
Five franchises were given a clear and final instruction: they must submit the unconditional 10-crore bank guarantee to the BCB by Tuesday. The deadline passed, the day ended, but the governing council kept waiting. They even informally extended the deadline by a few hours on Wednesday, hoping someone might submit at the last minute. But that wait also led nowhere.
Not a single franchise submitted the full guarantee. This is the main reason the auction was postponed, governing council member and BCB vice-president Shakawat Hossain told bdnews24.com.
The internal picture within the governing council regarding the bank guarantees is quite chaotic as well. Members have conflicting information about how much each franchise has paid. According to multiple sources, none of the five franchises paid the full 10 crores. Dhaka Capitals paid half, Sylhet Titans paid a partial amount, while the amounts deposited by Rangpur Riders and Rajshahi Warriors also vary depending on which council member is asked.
But governing council member-secretary Iftekhar Ahmed claims something entirely different. He told bdnews24.com that they had received the 10-crore bank guarantee from Dhaka Capitals, Rangpur Riders, and Rajshahi Warriors. However, he said there was no information of receiving any amount from Sylhet Titans or Chattogram Royals.
“Franchises were given an extension from November 13 to November 18 to submit their bank guarantees. Yet, not all of them could do it. Some teams even asked for additional time. So in the end, there was no option but to postpone the auction. Now the plan is to take responsibility for the Chattogram franchise — which has not paid even a single taka — under the BCB and bring in outside investment to somehow keep this season running.”
Several governing council members believe this is the only way to organize the BPL properly. They also think it is impossible for the BCB to cover the shortfall of two teams using the money received from three others.
According to the latest updates, the situation of the Chattogram Royals is particularly unstable. Even with the extended deadline, they failed to secure the bank guarantee. As a result, preparations are underway to cancel the franchise’s rights. At the same time, efforts are being made to see if the team can still be kept in the tournament with support from external investors. As an alternative, the governing council has also begun searching for a new franchise to replace them. They have even contacted some of the groups who were eliminated in the earlier selection round.
Overall, the BPL is now trapped in a cycle of disorganization, uncertainty, and pressure. With teams failing to submit their bank guarantees, the governing council appears to have lost control of the situation and is now left in a helpless position instead.
