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Inaugural WBPL all set to clash with WPL as BCB launch three-team league
Follow UsThe tournament is expected to be a local competition rather than a high-profile franchise tournament featuring top stars
In what’s come as a bolt from the blue, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have announced the launch of the Women’s Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL).
The tournament is set to be a three-team competition like the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), and it is expected to kick-start in February immediately after the conclusion of the Men’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
The timing is such that parts of the WBPL will clash with the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the third season of which will begin on February 14.
"The plan is to conduct it (WBPL) with three teams. To organize a quality tournament, you need a sufficient pool of talented players. Expanding beyond three teams would dilute the quality. Although we considered four teams, we decided this format was more feasible,” Cricbuzz quoted BCB women's wing chairman Nazmul Abedin as saying.
"Our focus is not just on hosting a tournament for financial gains but on improving the standard of women's cricket. A three-team competition will be more competitive."
The tournament is expected to be a local competition rather than a high-profile franchise tournament featuring top stars. Nazmul revealed that teams will be allowed to field no more than one overseas player in the starting XI.
"Each team will have 15 local players, with the foreign player quota remaining open," he said.
"We won't take many overseas players due to the financial constraints. Four overseas players puts financial pressure on the teams; perhaps they don't want to take that pressure. We want to give more opportunities to our domestic cricketers. We want to add competitiveness."
However, Nazmul, who is in the BCB board, did not reveal who the teams will be, only claiming that several franchises have ‘shown interest’ in owning WBPL sides.
"We have already spoken to a few BPL franchises, who have shown interest [in owning women's teams]," he said.
"We want to see how a women's tournament has an effect on our T20 cricket. We are hopeful that it will help our women's game progress."