BCB document reveals BPL franchises owe Tk14.9 crore in unpaid fees

An official Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) document has laid bare the scale of financial irregularities in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League’s (BPL) 12th edition, revealing that franchises collectively fell short of their guaranteed security deposit obligations by a staggering margin.

According to the BCB's franchise fee and security deposit statement, six franchises were each required to provide a guaranteed amount of Tk10 crore — totalling Tk60 crore across the board. 

However, the document shows the combined balance outstanding across all franchises stands at Tk14.9 crore in unpaid franchise fees alone.

The breakdown makes for uncomfortable reading.

While Rangpur Riders, owned by Toggi Sports Limited, appear to be the only franchise to have fulfilled their bank guarantee obligation in full at Tk10 crore, the picture elsewhere is patchy at best.

Dhaka Capitals, owned by Champions Sports Ltd, submitted their entire guaranteed amount via cheque — a method BCB officials had explicitly flagged as falling short of the bank guarantee requirement. 

Rajshahi Warriors similarly relied entirely on cheque payments worth Tk10 crore, with no bank guarantee in place.

Chattogram Royals, owned by Triangle Services Ltd, provided only a Tk1 crore pay order against the required Tk10 crore. 

Sylhet Titans submitted a Tk1.5 crore pay order, while Noakhali Express provided a Tk2 crore pay order — both well below the mandated threshold.

The document shows the total franchise fee agreed across all six sides stood at Tk26.9 crore, of which only Tk12 crore has been received — leaving Tk14.9 crore outstanding.

BCB ad-hoc committee member and BPL chairman Fahim Sinha, speaking at a press conference Thursday, said the board had suffered losses of between Tk14 and 16 crore in the edition, with the bulk of it attributed to the BCB being forced to take over the Chattogram franchise at the last minute.

BCB ad-hoc committee head Tamim Iqbal did not hold back, describing the situation as a consequence of deliberate rule-breaking rather than honest mismanagement.

"You are sitting in charge and failing every rule. You are giving teams to those whom your own people are prohibiting — that is when we talk about BPL not being clean," Tamim said.

He added that BCB had effectively been subsidising the failures of those who awarded franchises in breach of the board's own Expression of Interest criteria, warning that the practice would not be tolerated going forward.

"If I get this liberty, I know that I will do it and BCB will pay. This system has to be stopped," he said.