In the players’ auction for the 12th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Chattogram Royals stunned everyone by securing left-handed opener Mohammad Naim Sheikh for Tk1.1 crore — the highest-priced player of this year’s franchise T20 auction.

Daily Sun’s Zaigum Azam spoke with Chattogram Royals owner Md Abdul Kayum Rashed on Friday, where the franchise boss discussed the auction, the controversies surrounding it, and the team’s future plans.

Daily Sun: How did you come into cricket?

Md Abdul Kayum Rashed: Cricket is definitely a place of passion. I have liked cricket a lot since childhood. And because of being in business, I used to sponsor different local cricket tournaments in neighbourhoods. So, an acquaintance of mine, Saminur bhai — he has known me for quite a long time — he suddenly told me a few days ago that franchises would be given for five years in the upcoming BPL. So, he asked whether we would be interested.

So, considering that, we saw that since it is for five years, this is a place with very high exposure. And we have our internet service, our cloud business, and also our housing business. Since our business is already expanded nationwide and BPL offers good exposure, we decided to participate in the BPL based on that thought. And from then on, a small journey, step by step, brought us here today. And fortunately, because of everyone’s work, today we own a franchise like Chattogram.

Daily Sun: You spoke about exposure and sponsorship. How many sponsors have you received now? Do you think your entry into the BPL will be a viable project? Not in the first year, but in the long term?

Kayum: In the long term, we feel this is definitely a good space. But here, our government and the board have a lot of scope to work. If we think about the IPL, we recently saw news that Royal Challengers Bengaluru had the valuation of Tk26,000 crore. If the board can support us more through policy, we believe this can definitely become a strong business space.

But yes, if I speak from the sponsorship point — we still haven’t received any sponsors. What we are facing is that given the country’s current situation, many people aren’t really interested in sponsoring right now. But still, we have received positive responses from several potential sponsors. Hopefully, within a few days, we will be able to secure some good sponsorships.

But this year, our plan is to at least avoid loss — that’s the approach we are taking. And this time BCB has clearly stated that we will have a 30% revenue sharing on the gross profit. So that’s there. So, if we think long term, since the team is for five years — after five years, maybe we will not incur much loss. And if we can establish our brand value, then it can definitely become a good business space. And alongside that, there is exposure for our own business as well. If we consider it indirectly, there is definitely an indirect impact on our business.

Daily Sun: About the move for Naim Sheikh — is it related to brand value?

Kayum: Definitely. We can proudly say that.

Daily Sun: But a few days before that, you were in the headlines of almost every newspaper and online media in Bangladesh. Was that at the back of your mind? Like — “Okay, let’s buy a player at a price that creates a buzz in the market”? Is this a business policy for newcomers? Do you really think Naim Sheikh is a player worth more than Tk1 crore? Or was it also a branding matter — that you had to take him?

Kayum: No, the vision we had was… if you look at Naim Sheikh’s domestic report from the last one or two years, he was a good player. And if we look at our direct signing — we did not actually have any top-listed player available. So, we had a target that we needed to take an ‘A’ category player. And Naim Sheikh was a good player in that bracket.

Daily Sun: Why not Litton Das?

Kayum: Naim Sheikh was on the list first. He was the first lot. Since Naim Sheikh was the first lot and our target was not to take too much risk by going to the second option, and since multiple franchises fought for Naim Sheikh — that is why his price went high. Also, since he was the first lot, everyone tries to lock the first lot anyhow. That is why the price actually went up.

If we look at Towhid Hridoy, his price went up to Tk92 lakh. So, if Litton had been the first lot instead of Naim, his price could have gone higher than Tk1.1 crore— maybe even Tk1.5 crore. So overall, we feel he was favoured by luck being the first domestic player.

Daily Sun: But do you think that buying Naim Sheikh for over Tk1 crore had an impact on your overall expenditure? Because after that, many of your other players were signed at very minimal prices. If instead of Naim Sheikh at that price, you had got him at Tk70 lakh, then perhaps you could have spent Tk20 lakh more on other players?

Kayum: No. Since there were two players — Naim Sheikh and Litton Das — we assumed their prices would be high, and close to Tk1 crore. For the rest, we went only up to a limited point. We had a pre-budget set beforehand for each player — the maximum amount we would go for each. So, when that budget was exceeded, we stopped bidding for that player. So, we got the players that were within our target.

Daily Sun: That means you got everyone you targeted?

Kayum: I hope so. Yes, we got everyone we targeted.

Daily Sun: Was Ziaur Rahman one of your targets?

Kayum: Yes, he was.

Daily Sun: Was Arafat Sunny one of your targets?

Kayum: Yes.

Daily Sun: Shuvagata Hom?

Kayum: Yes. Actually, if we look at Shuvagata Hom and Ziaur Rahman — in Chattogram Challengers, both had a good role in making the team runners-up. Despite their age, we mainly bought their experience. If we look at foreign players, many of them are over 45. Yet they perform very well in BPL and other franchise leagues and come at good value. So, we thought similarly. For someone whose experience helped a franchise become runners-up, that experience is what we bought.

Daily Sun: But Angelo Perera? Was that your individual decision, or the management’s?

Kayum: That was also our management’s decision. Our management team included our coach, our performance analyst, and our batting coach. So the five-six of us sat together and finalised the list of targeted players.

Daily Sun: Your coach and coaching staff — how did you select them? Was this done by Saminur?

Kayum: Yes, he had a role. The main reason behind bringing in Mominul bhai was that since we are from Chattogram, we were not getting very good Chattogram players. So we saw that Mominul bhai is a good coach and also the coach of Chattogram division. That’s why we chose him.

Daily Sun: Are you yourself from Chattogram?

Kayum: My ancestral home is in Magura.

Daily Sun: Do you know Shakib? Do you miss him? Would you take him if he was available?

Kayum: The whole world knows Shakib. Definitely. Not only Shakib — if we had a chance to take Tamim in some way, maybe we would have tried, since we are Chattogram.

Daily Sun: Meaning your branding policy is linked to Chattogram?

Kayum: Definitely.

Daily Sun: So if Shakib was available, you would have taken him too? Since your home district is Magura?

Kayum: Definitely.

Daily Sun: About your team — last night we reported that up until today, everything we knew about your team was that Habibul Bashar would be the local spokesperson. What happened that he left? Though he said he stepped aside for family reasons. Was this shocking for you?

Kayum: He mentioned family reasons. We only came to know yesterday, unfortunately, and later came to know through the media. He said he needs to give time to his family. So tomorrow we have a meeting at our office with them. After that meeting, we will be able to say more clearly. We haven’t officially declared yet that he is no longer with us. From the Chattogram Royals’ side, we haven’t declared anything. After tomorrow’s meeting, we will declare whether he is with us or not.

Daily Sun: How confident are you about bringing him back?

Kayum: We are very hopeful. And the most important thing is that the priority for every member we selected for this team was integrity. If we think about Habibul Bashar Sumon bhai — he is a very clean face in this aspect. He is our mentor; we selected him as team manager so the team remains clean and everyone can give their best with integrity. So, we are still hopeful — if there is no major family crisis, something positive may happen.

Daily Sun: You spoke about integrity — but there are a lot of questions about integrity regarding your team. The person who connected you with cricket, Saminur — BCB said he will not be allowed. Secondly, one of his relatives is your logistics manager.

Kayum: Yes.

Daily Sun: Will he stay in the team?

Kayum: Since this matter has come up, we are taking it into consideration. We haven’t decided yet whether we will continue with him. But BCB has not given a final report yet. We have already told Saminur bhai that since BCB has raised an observation, we will not continue any official work with him further at this moment. After the BCB report, we will review it. And since his brother is here, we will also consider whether we will continue with him or not. Since he is in logistics and the tournament hasn’t started yet, and the BCB report hasn’t come — after the report arrives, we will take the final decision on whether he will continue with us or not.

Daily Sun: As the BPL has started, and with the wind, a lot of things are floating around. Amin Khan — you could say he is a very mysterious character in Bangladesh cricket. How well do you know him?

Kayum: Actually, I’ve only met him once.

Daily Sun: You’ve had the fortune to meet him?

Kayum: Yes, we met. It’s a very small circle. But, officially or unofficially, in no way is he a part of Chattogram Royals, that we want to ensure. We saw the news. But again, we want to ensure that he is in no way a part of Chattogram Royals.

Daily Sun: There’s also a concept circulating in the market that Amin Khan is bringing you sponsors. He is telling you that he will bring sponsors. Is this true? I’m saying what the market is saying.

Kayum: I have no proof of this so far. If he brings sponsors, definitely that’s good. I mean, since he is a mysterious character, our brand could get a vibration alongside that. So definitely, not only for five years, we have already thought bigger: after these five years, how we can prolong it further, and we also have a plan to set up an academy.

Daily Sun: In Magura or in Chattogram?

Kayum: Look, when an academy is built, it is for the whole of Bangladesh.

Daily Sun: No, but where will the base be? In Magura? Because if you do it for Chattogram, from a Magura point of view, I’m talking from the perspective of Shakib’s area, won’t the boys of your own hometown be deprived? Doesn’t it seem so? Because this is just another business project of yours. If I’m not wrong. If you were from Magura, then there would be more attachment to it, “My hometown, I have to do a lot here.” But this Chattogram team is your team, and after five years you will say that it has got an attachment. Until now, the team is your family. Every year your attachment will grow. But when you set up the academy, will it be for the people of Chattogram or the people of Magura? Because you are from Magura.

Kayum: Definitely, we have a liability toward Chattogram. Since we are the franchise of Chattogram, we definitely have liability toward them. We may try for Chattogram, but we haven’t fixed our plan yet. But one thing is, the name is Chattogram, but the brand we own is for the whole of Bangladesh. So if this brand becomes established, not only in Bangladesh, but beyond the borders, this name will vibrate. So there, we will see how we can bring the whole of Bangladesh under this academy, and of course the people of Chattogram will have priority, the highest priority, since it is in Chattogram and we have responsibility there. If we feel that in terms of feasibility, it’s good to do it in Chattogram or nearby, we will definitely bring that into consideration. But we haven’t fixed the spot yet. But we will do it, we are quite determined about that, and we will work here for a long time.

Daily Sun: If we talk about Chattogram, the one person truly attached to Chattogram soil is Tamim Iqbal Khan. Would you like to invite him into your team at any point? In any measure? In any way, would you involve him in the team just to step into the hearts of the people of Chattogram?

Kayum: Definitely. He is not only an icon of Chattogram; he is an icon of Bangladesh. Since he is also from Chattogram, and since he is a player, we do have plans to organise a big programme in Chattogram. So, in that programme we will invite him, and we will think about how we can get in touch with him. We have that in mind. But we haven’t officially contacted him yet. But it is in our plans.

Daily Sun: Your coach is Chokka Milon. Apart from being known as “Chokka Milon”, he doesn’t have any coaching background. BPL is a very big stage. Say you hire someone for accounting; you’ll check where he last worked in accounting, even if he is highly educated. But when you recruit in accounting, you look at his job experience. Milon has no coaching résumé. How did he come into coaching? He was a player with good and bad moments. But no one has given him any coaching background. He hasn’t coached anywhere. BPL is a very big event where coaching would be a very difficult thing. There’s decision-making, many responsibilities. And today, the players you are picking — say you are taking Naim Sheikh. Let me name five players: Naim Sheikh, Tanvir, Shak Mehdi, Joy, Shoriful. These five players are in one team, and people will definitely think they should go into safe hands. You are giving these five players to someone who has no coaching background. Is this right? Who actually proposed that name?

Kayum: Actually, in the beginning since Saminur bhai was here, he had some guidance here. Alongside that, our coach Mominul bhai also guided things. He also has guidance here. And another thing is, yes, maybe he has no experience. But if we think in another way, no one has experience in the beginning. Everything starts somewhere. Now Mominul bhai is here, we actually have a lot of trust in him. If there is any gap, hopefully he will be able to cover it.

Daily Sun: So Mominul bhai will hold the head coach post?

Kayum: Yes, yes.

Daily Sun: The team that is being widely linked with Amin Khan, when Mominul bhai recommends any name, we tend to assume that the name probably came from Amin Khan. I’m not aware how long you’ve been in Bangladesh cricket. I just want to tell you this. So how hopeful are you that he (Mominul) will take you to your desired target?

Kayum: I understand your question.

Daily Sun: Say, my team is Abahani. Your coach would try to take my player, because eventually after finishing with you, he has to play domestic league with us. Am I being clear? So why do you think that Mominul bhai won’t be overly Brothers Union-centric?

Kayum: Look, a person can have multiple identities naturally. But from the part of his professionalism, we expect that if he doesn’t perform well here, we will not continue with him next time. That’s number one. Another thing is, the BCB has clearly said that at any time if we want, we can change the management team. So, we are still observing many areas. If we feel, before the game begins, before going into practice, that someone needs to be changed, we will definitely do it. But from the beginning we have loudly said to our team and to everyone we talk to, when two teams play, one side has to lose. So, if we lose, we want to lose like warriors. When we lose, no one should be able to say that you lost deliberately. We are going to the field to win. Even if we lose, people should say they lost after putting in their last drop of sweat. In that area, we will not have any consideration.

Daily Sun: Coming toward the end. There’s a strong discussion in the market that when you went to the draft, when you were sitting at the table, calls were coming from outside to your manager, and players were being picked based on that. Is this right? Because I wouldn’t blame you; it's not expected that you would know players. You will know players after two years. This year, what I saw — your cloud, internet — within one year you will be a better performance analyst than anyone else. But on that day, at that table, calls came to your management people and they picked one or two players. If I’m not wrong. I don’t usually get things wrong in journalism. It’s been many years — chances of mistakes are low.

Kayum: Well, at the auction table, almost everyone gets calls. I also got emergency business calls. Many got business calls. But our entire player list was pre-defined, and we followed our draft list…

Daily Sun: But you said there were no people of Amin Khan…

Kayum: No, nothing like that. And there won’t be in the future. There is no scope. Since he is controversy-linked, and news about him already exists, and since we want to turn this team into a brand, we will not allow any negative vibration to enter our brand in any way.

Daily Sun: How much capital will you invest behind the BPL? In five years, to recover from the BPL, you will need to spend at least around 50 crore taka. 50 to 55 crore. Even 60 crore if I’m not wrong — if you want to make it a brand. Do you think that investing 60 crore in five years will generate profit of 120–150 crore after ten years?

Kayum: There are two things here. One is direct business, another is indirect business. We haven’t even gone onto the field yet, but our indirect business portfolio has already started to become heavier. We can clearly see that. So, let's say, our total business is MRC-based (monthly recurring charge). So, let’s say from the BPL’s brand vibration we get Tk1 lakh. Example, Tk1 lakh becomes Tk12 lakh in 12 months. We are already seeing that vibration. So, the interesting thing is, if we can take our brand value to a very good place, the indirect impact it will have on our business will be good enough.

And also, we have exposure. We have recently thought that once our jersey is unveiled, two teams — one team will move from Brahmanbaria, and one team will move from Teknaf — they will travel across the whole division and arrive in Chattogram. And centrally we will arrange a small to medium-level programme before we start playing. So, both our brand exposure and indirect impact on business will be considered carefully. And according to our calculations, within five years, the additional burn we will have — our indirect business will cover that.

Daily Sun: When you entered the BPL, Bangladesh’s political situation is very unstable. Election ahead, many things might happen. After the election, with changes in the political landscape, will your company’s environment change? Or are you well aware that whoever comes, “I will run my business anyway”? I’m asking because many people jump into the BPL out of excitement. One year they spend money, next year a new government comes — lots of pressure, lots of things happen — and they back out. I have seen these things in my life. So I want to ask you this.

Kayum: Are you talking about our Chattogram Royals, or the franchise?

Daily Sun: Chattogram Royals. I want to know — you keep saying you’re here for five years. If after the election, something happens, a new government comes… Your business growth, on which everything depends, will remain the same, right? Will you continue for five years? Because sometimes due to politics, teams leave. You surely have no political identity?

Kayum: We have no political identity. From ’97 until now—

Daily Sun: Meaning all political parties are your party?

Kayum: If you put it that way, it won’t sound right. Since we are in business, we work very clean and neutrally. And whichever government comes, we do business according to their guidance. So far, we have had no political affiliation or anything like that. So, from that standpoint we are hopeful. Since we have no political tag, even then if something happens — it’s impossible to predict now. But we have no political issue, and we don’t see any scope for such issues arising. If we play well, perform well, and give BCB and the board a successful story, we are very hopeful we can continue.

Daily Sun: Suppose tomorrow you have a meeting with Habibul Bashar. And he says, “If these people stay, I won’t stay.” I want to know, if he says, “If these people are in the team, I won’t be,” let’s say he names Atif, Jubair — XYZ people — then what would be your take?

Kayum: Definitely, that’s a very good question. And since he—

Daily Sun: Since he will say it because he knows everyone.

Kayum: Exactly. That’s what I want to address. And I am very hopeful that if he says something like this, we will give it very high priority. We brought him into the team for his focus on integrity. So, if he references that a certain person has an issue, and if we have the opportunity to discontinue him— now look, within our player list, I’m not sure if there's scope to discontinue them.

Daily Sun: You can choose not to play them.

Kayum: Exactly. That’s the point. If we cannot directly discontinue someone, then we will definitely place them on the side bench. And his suggestion will be highly prioritised. We will give the highest priority to his suggestion, and we brought him mainly to keep the integrity of our team at the top level.

Daily Sun: Last question. How important is your company’s reputation to you? In Bangladesh cricket, many big companies, even multinational ones, and you know very well, many major Bangladeshi companies, set businesses; they don’t want to enter the BPL saying, “Brother, we won’t go. We lose our reputation in the middle of the tournament.” Many issues happen, chaos happens. “We don’t want to get tagged into that.” For you, how important is it that the BPL runs with integrity? Because if the BPL doesn’t run smoothly, it will impact your business. Because your buyers will also wonder why you got involved in such a tournament. So how important is it for your business that the BPL runs with integrity?

Kayum: Definitely, this will have a good impact on our brand identity and business prospects. We are arranging everything with that in mind. If something happens that goes against us, then we might… we would back out. Definitely. We came here to prioritise and flourish our existing business. If BPL backfires for us, we will definitely back out from here.

Daily Sun: Thank you.

Kayum: Thank you.