The Bangladesh Cricket Board have confirmed there will be no Bangladesh Premier League this year.
The 2020 BPL, like South Africa's Mzansi Super League, has been deferred to next year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“BPL is not happening this year,” said BCB president Nazmul Hasan.
“Let's see it in next year. We do not want to miss any game but everything will depend on the situation and circumstances.”
Overseas Players in the BPL
The tournament has featured several players from overseas, including South Africa's Rilee Rossouw, England's Dawid Malan, West Indian duo Chadwick Walton and Johnson Charles and others.
“Because whenever there is talk of BPL, there must be foreign cricketers. At the same time there is the matter of production,” added Hasan.
“Now if we can do those in Bangladesh then we have no objection. But it is a little bigger arrangement because of the number of players there and the team management are much higher. I don't know if we are able to handle that or not.”
BPL Outside Bangladesh?
The 2020 Indian Premier League is being played in the United Arab Emirates, not India. The IPL was hosted in South Africa in 2009. Hasan, though, ruled out the possibility of the BPL being played outside Bangladesh.
“I don't think it will be easy to organise the tournament outside. I tell you, when we go to run in Bangladesh, except for one or two franchises, the rest of us have a hard time to play the tournament,” he concluded.
“I heard the bio-security belt has to be created outside, say, in the United Kingdom and even in Dubai for the IPL as well and I don't think it is possible for anyone. It is almost impossible for us to spend so much money.”
Former Bangladesh captains Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan are the BPL's leading run-scorer and wicket-taker, respectively.
The first edition of the BPL was played in 2012. The Rajshahi Royals are the reigning champions.
Like the IPL, the 2020 Caribbean Premier League and T20 Blast in the United Kingdom also went ahead without spectators as a preventative measure against the spread of the virus.
