The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken charge of the Chattogram Royals after the franchise’s owners pulled out barely 24 hours before the new Bangladesh Premier League season. The move, confirmed late on Wednesday, keeps tomorrow’s opening fixture against Noakhali Express on the slate, but it leaves yet another dent in the league’s already fragile reputation.
“They have given the BCB a letter three hours ago so we have officially taken over the team,” BPL chairman Iftekhar Rahman told ESPNcricinfo. “It is an unexpected situation. The franchise wrote in the letter that due to media reports, they couldn’t find sponsors for the team. We have been strict about integrity and player payment this season. We don’t want a situation like the Rajshahi franchise last year.”
Triangle Services Limited bought the new-look Royals licence from the board and even bid for players at last month’s draft. However, the company informed the BCB yesterday that it could not secure sufficient sponsorship. Insiders say several negative headlines – including references to two individuals “red-flagged” in a recent corruption report – proved fatal to potential commercial deals.
The BCB reacted quickly, installing former national captain Habibul Bashar as team director. Domestic coach Mizanur Rahman Babul is expected to handle on-field duties, while ex-opener Nafees Iqbal steps in as team manager. Contracts for players and support staff, the board insists, remain valid under its stewardship.
The Royals are one of four fresh franchises in a trimmed six-team competition. Even so, selling those licences was difficult enough; losing one owner before a ball is bowled is the last thing the BPL needed during a cycle already under scrutiny. Payment rows in early editions (2012–15) scarred public perception, and last year’s episode, when Durbar Rajshahi players briefly boycotted training over unpaid allowances and hotel bills, reopened wounds.
Rahman argues the tougher stance on finances is worth the occasional upheaval. It means, he believes, “situations like the Rajshahi franchise” can be avoided once and for all. Players privately back the policy, though several admitted to disappointment at more late turmoil.
Analyst Khaled Mahmud, speaking to local radio, noted that mid-season board-run teams have precedent elsewhere. “But success hinges on straight-forward communication with the dressing-room,” he warned. “Players hate uncertainty more than anything.”
From a cricketing point of view, the Royals’ line-up – headlined by top-order hitter Abdul Mazid and overseas quick Mohammad Wasim – remains intact. Logistics are trickier. Kit branding must be redone, hotel deposits advanced, and media obligations reshuffled, all within hours. A BCB operations official joked that the league office “feels like an emergency ward”.
Whether fans will pardon another administrative U-turn is harder to judge. Many are simply relieved the fixture list stays untouched; others point out that such chaos explains why television networks negotiate cautiously and why the league’s best players often sign short-term deals elsewhere.
For now, the Royals will take the field on schedule at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, in official BCB colours instead of corporate livery. A new owner may yet emerge during the season, but the board, famous for last-minute fixes, has once again become a franchise operator by default. The cricket can finally begin—though the backdrop remains as unpredictable as ever.
