Bangladesh’s premier club competition, the Dhaka Premier League, is in cold storage. A seven-month tug-of-war between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and a large bloc of Dhaka-based clubs has halted play across all four tiers and left hundreds of professionals without work.
“We consider this cricket board as illegal,” Sabbir Ahemd, president of Pragati Seba Sangha and a spokesperson for the dissident clubs, told ESPNcricinfo. His group counts 39 teams that have either refused to register for the new season or walked out on match days.
How did we get here?
• October’s board elections are the main flashpoint. Ahead of polling, BCB president Aminul Islam sent out controversial nomination letters that, according to the clubs, breached the board’s own constitution.
• Twelve of the 25 BCB directors traditionally come from Dhaka clubs. Many felt the revised electoral process diluted that influence, so they boycotted the vote and, by extension, this season’s leagues.
• The boycott began with the First Division in December. Eight teams refused to take the field on opening day, handing opponents walkovers. A 20-team event suddenly became a 12-team scramble.
• The same pattern followed in January when half of the Second Division sides pulled out. Now, with only five of 20-odd Third Division teams willing to talk, even the grassroots tier is paralysed.
For the players, patience is fraying. CWAB – the players’ association – has been shuttling between board and clubs for months, yet progress is minimal.
“The Dhaka league is the main source of income for Bangladesh’s professional cricketers,” CWAB president Mohammad Mithun told ESPNcricinfo. “It is not just a financial boost for the players but it also provides the experience of handling pressure on and off the field. There are about 1500 to 1600 players who are taking part in this competition together.”
Abahani Limited, last season’s champions, have no fixtures to defend. Their overseas and senior locals have drifted into national camps or short coaching gigs; younger squad members are effectively unemployed. One fringe seamer estimated he has lost close to BDT 6 lakh in match fees already – money unlikely to be recouped even if the league resumes late.
What is the board’s stance? Publicly, BCB officials say they are open to dialogue but will not “reward obstruction”. Privately, some directors feel the impasse will break only when the clubs run out of cash. That view ignores the reality that many players have already hit the breadline.
Could the Premier League still be salvaged? Unlikely before the next international window in June. Grounds are idle, match officials have been reassigned, and several marquee players have accepted offers in minor overseas T20 events. The longer the void drags on, the harder it becomes to squeeze a full double-round competition into Bangladesh’s humid monsoon calendar.
Where does this leave everyone?
Players: contractless and increasingly vocal on social media.
Clubs: entrenched, yet also losing sponsors with every washed-out week.
BCB: adamant its election was constitutional, reluctant to concede ground.
Unless one side blinks soon, the country’s most valuable cricket nursery stays shuttered, and a generation of hopefuls miss out on both income and exposure. A messy row all round, with little sign of an umpire ready to call play.
