Ban tour to Pak in April: Bangladesh worried about security in Pakistan

Dhaka, Jan 10 (bdnews24.com) -- Bangladesh's players are concerned about the security situation in Pakistan ahead of their scheduled tour to the country in April, the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) president, Naimur Rahman, has said. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had requested the government to send a team to Pakistan to evaluate the security arrangements, but it is believed the players think the board should talk to them first before making a decision. 

"We (CWAB) don't have a stance as such, but we know that the players are worried," Rahman, who was Bangladesh's first Test captain, said, reports ESPNcricinfo. 

"The situation is not normal there and no other team is going to Pakistan. They themselves play their home games in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The BCB are going to send the investigation team and we hope to be a part of it. If not, we will wait for the report. 

"I personally believe it is not safe. The worried players haven't approached us formally, but when they do, we will take the matter to the cricket board." 



PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had met with Pakistan's interior ministry to discuss security arrangements for the Bangladesh team. 

Interior minister Rehman Malik said that 'box security', which includes bullet and bomb proof vehicles, would be provided for the series. 

"Since we have a scheduled tour on the Future Tours Programme (FTP), that's why we promised to send a security team before making any decision," BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. 

"We are more concerned than the players about their security and safety. I think it's too early to say anything because we are yet to decide anything." 

Pakistan have not hosted an international series since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. Since then they have hosted their home series at offshore venues like England and the UAE. 

BPL T20 Sylhet franchise targets Akram

Most of the franchises have started to move forward with their Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) teams following their acquirements during the bidding programme on Tuesday.

The players' list has also been confirmed and given to the franchises. Eighty-two local players will be put together under three categories. Six top cricketers -- Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, Abdur Razzak, Junaed Siddiqui, Imrul Kayes and Nasir Hossain -- have been placed in Grade A with a base price of 45,000 dollars while twelve more are in Grade B with a base price of 30,000 dollars and the rest in C with 20,000 dollars.

While the former national captains are the popular choice among the team owners as selectors, advisors or managers, Sylhet has already named Pakistan great Wasim Akram as their target for the coach's position.

Uday Hakim, a high official with the franchise, said that apart from Akram, they also want to rope in big Twenty20 names.

"Wasim Akram is our target as the coach. We want to put together a line-up to become champions," he said.

"Players like Shahid Afridi, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralidaran are in our sights while from the local bunch, we want to take young all-rounders. But we haven't decided who we would take as our advisor among the former national players," added Hakim.

On the day of the bidding programme, the Rajshahi franchise showed their cards by revealing former national captain Faruque Ahmed and former national opener Athar Ali Khan as part of the team's think-tank. The Dhaka franchise, bought by Europa Group, said that they have sought the services of Habibul Bashar, a former national captain and a current selector.

Bashar's boss on the selection panel, Akram Khan, is also in demand by the Barisal franchise although the owners haven't contacted their icon player Shahriar Nafees.

It was also learned that the Chittagong franchise will have another former national captain, Khaled Mahmud, as their advisor. Mahmud was also with the Chittagong Tigers, owned by SQ Sports, when they participated in the Port City Cricket League.

Meanwhile, the BPL Governing Council and Game On Sport Management held a meeting with the franchise owners and their representatives yesterday. The commercial rights and benefits, code of conduct, playing conditions as well as other important details were discussed. The foreign players' payment, in case of missing matches, will be according to the contracted amount divided by total number of matches multiplied by the matches played by the player.

The franchisees have been requested to recruit a head coach, an assistant coach, a physiotherapist, a physical trainer, a computer analyst and a media manager. BPL Governing Council will provide a list of foreign coaches who are interested at this moment along with local available coaches, physio and trainers. The teams have also been requested to include anti-corruption and security personnel. As for the players' auction, the franchises will be given a comprehensive training session on January 16.

Chittagong priciest at $1.2m

The owners of all six Bangladesh Premier League franchises pose for photos after the bidding concluded for the inaugural edition of the cricket tournament at the Westin Dhaka yesterday.

BPL T20 Franchises to get owners today

The Bangladesh Premier League will take some shape today when the franchise bidding programme takes place at a local hotel.

The Twenty20 competition which has been structured IPL-style will have six team owners for the different teams.

Nine different bidders have so far bought bidding documents, though most of them are associations of two or three different companies. Each of these associations will drop their quotation for the franchise they are interested to buy. If there is a single bidder for one franchise, it will go on auction, the minimum bidding price being a million dollars (Tk 8 crore 20 lakh).

Sirajuddin Alamgir, BPL governing council secretary, said that they were pleased with the response so far.

"We are more than happy. Through these bidders, some more people are getting connected to the BPL. They are being encouraged to get involved," he said yesterday. Alamgir also informed that some of these bidders are associated with foreign companies.

The rumours of IPL franchises' involvement could also be true as teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils have shown interest in acquiring stakes in the different franchises. What has hindered them from directly buying a franchise so far is the slow pace of official formalities.

It was learned that several of the country's business houses including Europa Group, Orion Group and Walton have put forward a bid.

After the documents are opened at mid-day, there will be accumulation of data through template and live projection and the results will be declared within the hour.

Among the franchises, Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna are said to be in high demand for various reasons. It was heard that three bidders have the capital's franchise while the defending Twenty20 champions Rajshahi are also sought after. Khulna's appeal too is most likely due to Shakib Al Hasan being their icon player.

We want to see it again when BPL starts....

BPL starting ceremony....willl be colourfull like this....

Bangladeshi Supporters will Rock the BPL

Bangladeshi lovely supporter they can success BPL.......

How it will look if Tamim and Gayle Open for Chotagong....???

BPL logo unveiled

The logo of the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 (BPL) was unveiled on Thursday. 

The tournament's six icon players -- Tamim Iqbal (Chittagong), Mohammad Ashraful (Dhaka), Alok Kapali (Sylhet), Shahriar Nafees (Barisal), Mushfiqur Rahim (Rajshahi) and Shakib Al Hasan (Khulna) -- also attended the spectacular launch programme at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in the capital. 

The first edition of the BPL will kick off on Feb 9, 2012 with the final to be played on Feb 29. 

The 20-day tournament will feature six teams that will play each other twice each in a round-robin format. 

Of the 33 matches, 25 will be staged at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and the remainder at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. 

Teams will be allowed to field five foreign players in their playing elevens, as opposed to four in the Indian Premier League. 

The icon players will be paid five percent more than the amount received by the highest paid player of each franchise. 

The franchise auction will take place on Jan 5, either in Dhaka or the seaside town of Cox's Bazar. 

Companies wishing to bid for a franchise will submit their offers on the same day, and bids will be opened in front of all those present, with the franchises going to the highest bidder. 

The player auction is scheduled to take place 10 days later. Each team will have to spend a minimum of $2 million and can spend up to a maximum of $5 million. 

BPL T20 icons named

The names of six icon players for the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 (BPL) were announced by the organising committee of the event on Tuesday. 

The selected icons are: Tamim Iqbal (Chittagong), Mohammad Ashraful (Dhaka), Alok Kapali (Sylhet), Shahriar Nafees (Barisal), Mushfiqur Rahim (Rajshahi) and Shakib Al Hasan (Khulna). 

The country's first Twenty20 domestic event will get underway from Feb 10 with six divisional teams taking part. 

Of the 33 matches, 25 will be staged at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and the remainder at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. 

বিপিএলের ‘এ’ গ্রেডে ৪ ক্রিকেটার! BPL

বাংলাদেশ প্রিমিয়ার লিগ (বিপিএল)’র নিলামে তোলা হবে দেশের ৮০ জন ক্রিকেটারকে। ১২০ জন ক্রিকেটারের মধ্য থেকে সেরা ৮০ জনকে বাছাইয়ের দায়িত্বে আছেন জাতীয় দলের তিন নির্বাচক। তাদের কাজের অগ্রগতিও হয়েছে অনেক। সোমবার স্থানীয় ক্রিকেটারদের চূড়ান্ত তালিকা প্রস্তুত করা হবে। 

ছয় আইকন ক্রিকেটার আগেই নির্বাচিত হয়ে আছে। তাদেরকে ছাড়া ‘এ’ গ্রেডে চারজন, ‘বি’ গ্রেডে ১৫ জন এবং ‘সি’ গ্রেডে ৩০ জনকে নির্বাচন করা হয়েছে। এই ৫৫ জনের সঙ্গে আরও ২৫ জনকে নেওয়া হবে। বাকি খেলোয়াড়দেরকে নেওয়ার জন্য নির্বাচকরা আরেকটি গ্রেড অবশ্য করে রেখেছেন।

‘এ’- গ্রেড: মাহমুদউল্লাহ রিয়াদ, আব্দুর রাজ্জাক, নাসির হোসেন ও মাশরাফি বিন মর্তুজা।

‘বি’ গ্রেড: নাজিমউদ্দিন, জুনায়েদ সিদ্দিক, শুভাগত হোম চৌধুরী, ইলিয়াস সানি, রকিবুল হাসান, সোহরাওয়ার্দী, রুবেল হোসেন, শফিউল ইসলাম, নাজমুল হোসেন, আনামুল হক বিজয়, জহুরুল ইসলাম, ইমরুল কায়েস, ফরহাদ রেজা, মিথুন আলী ও নাঈম ইসলাম। 

‘সি’ গ্রেড: তুষার ইমরান, নাদীফ চৌধুরী, নাজমুল হোসেন মিলন, ফরহাদ হোসেন, আসিফ আহমেদ রাতুল, সাব্বির হোসেন, মাহমুদুল হাসান, রাজিন সালেহ, মেহরাব হোসেন জুনিয়র, মুমিনুল হক, ফয়সাল হোসেন, আফতাব আহমেদ, সোহাগ গাজী, তাপস ঘোষ, আরাফাত সানি, মোশারফ হোসেন রুবেল, নাজমুল হোসেন অপু, নূর হোসেন মুন্না, এনামুল হক জুনিয়র, রবিউল ইসলাম, শাহাদাত হোসেন, মুক্তার আলী, সৈয়দ রাসেল, মাহবুবুল আলম, ডলার মাহমুদ, মোহাম্মদ শরীফ, আরাফাত সালাউদ্দিন, আলাউদ্দিন বাবু, জিয়াউর রহমান ও ধীমান ঘোষ। 

অতিরিক্ত তালিকায় আছেন: শামসুর রহমান, রনি তালুকদার, নাফিস ইকবাল, ইমতিয়াজ হোসেন, অমিত মজুমদার, সৈকত আলী, অভিষেক মিত্র, মাহবুবুল করিম, সৌম্য সরকার, নাসিরুদ্দিন ফারুক, নাজমুস সাহাদাত, মাইশুকুর রহমান, আব্দুল মজিদ, ফয়সাল হোসেন, মিজানুর রহমান, মার্শাল আইয়ুব, শরীফুল¬াহ, আবুল বাশার, ইজাজ আহমেদ, ইফতেখার নাঈম, তাসামুল হক, তানভির হায়দার, সাকলায়েন সজীব, সানজামুল ইসলাম, নাবিল আহমেদ, শাকের আহমেদ, বিশ্বনাথ হালদার, সাজু দত্ত, মুরাদ খান, শাহজাদা, তারেক আজিজ খান, তাপস বৈশ্য, শুভাশীষ সরকার, মনোয়ার হোসেন, কামরুল ইসলাম রাব্বি, সাজিদুল ইসলাম, কাজী কামরুল, তানজীম আহমেদ, আরমান মজুমদার, আবু জাহেদ রাহী, আরিফুল হক, তালহা যুবায়ের, রাসেল আল মামুন, মিঠুন ইসলাম, রেজাউল করিম, উত্তম সরকার, সগির হোসেন, নুরুল ইসলাম, শাহীন হোসেন, হামিদুল ইসলাম হিমেল, তরুণ সরকার, আরমান হোসেন ও শাফাক আল জাবির।

Bangladesh Premier League to begin on February 9

The first edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will kick off on February 9, 2012 with the final to be played on February 29. The 20-day tournament will feature six teams that will play each other twice each in a round-robin format over 33 matches to be held in Chittagong and Dhaka.

Teams will be allowed to field five foreign players in their XIs, as opposed to four in the IPL. Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Kamran Akmal are among at least 25 foreign players who have made themselves available for the tournament.

"The main thing is the Bangladesh players have to be available," Arun Lal, a consultant to Game on Sports, the tournament organisers, and also a former India opener, told ESPNcricinfo.

As in the first season of the IPL, each team will have an icon player. The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced yesterday that Tamim Iqbal will be the icon player for Chittagong, Mohammad Ashraful for Dhaka, Alok Kapali for Sylhet, Shahriar Nafees for Barisal, Mushfiqur Rahim for Rajshahi and Shakib Al Hasan for Khulna. The players will be paid 5% more than the amount received by the highest paid player of each franchise.

The franchise auction will take place on January 5, either in Dhaka or the sea-side town of Cox's Bazar. Companies wishing to bid for a franchise will submit their offers on the same day, and bids will be opened in front of all those present, with the franchises going to the highest bidder. The player auction is scheduled to take place 10 days later. Each team will have to spend a minimum of US $2 million and can spend up to a maximum of $5 million.

The BPL will be televised on a new sports channel in Bangladesh and the organisers are believed to be in discussions with Ten Sports to broadcast the tournament in India. However, India's domestic 50-over tournament begins on February 20 and therefore could restrict Indian participation. "India is a problem," Lal said. "In the first six or eight games, they [India players] could play."

The organisers are also hoping that the winner of the BPL will be given a place in the Champions League Twenty20 next year.

Game on Sports paid US$44.3 million for the rights to the BPL for six years.