BPL auction to be held after 12 years

The players' auction is set to return to the Bangladesh Premier League after a gap of 12 years, BPL Governing Council announced on Wednesday. Players' auction system was in place during the first two editions of the BPL (2012 and 2013) while a players' draft format was adopted in the following nine editions of the tournament.

The auction will take place at a city hotel on November 23 where five franchises -- Dhaka Capitals, Chattogram Royals, Rajshahi Warriors, Rangpur Riders, and Sylhet Titans -- will take part to form their team for the 12th edition of the franchise-based T20 league.

"Organized by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the BPL Governing Council, this year's auction will mark the beginning of a new franchise ownership cycle, introducing a restructured and transparent bidding process designed to align the BPL with international T20 franchise standards," BCB said in a statement.

Under the new system, local players will be divided into six categories and overseas players into five. The base price for local cricketers in the top 'A' category will be BDT 50 lakh, with bids to rise in increments of BDT 5 lakh. For foreign players, the highest category will start at USD 35,000, with bids increasing by USD5,000 per call.

Each franchise will be permitted to sign up to two Bangladeshi players (from A and B categories) and one or two foreign players directly before the auction, subject to BPL Governing Council approval.

The auction will be held in two phases - local players first, followed by overseas players. Every franchise must buy at least 11 local players from the auction, with a maximum of 15 local players allowed in the squad. Directly signed players will be outside this auction requirement.

Each team will have a budget cap of BDT 4.5 crore for local players, excluding the payments made to directly signed cricketers.

Teams can register as many foreign players as they wish, but only two to four may feature in the playing XI for any match. Each team must buy at least two overseas players through the auction.

The maximum budget for foreign players has been set at USD 350,000 per team, including direct signings. Franchises will not be allowed to exceed the assigned price range or bidding limits.

.Payments for auctioned players must be made in three instalments - 25 percent upon signing, 55 percent before the team's last league match, and the remaining 20 percent within 30 days after the tournament ends. All payments will be subject to National Board of Revenue (NBR) tax regulations.

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