Mahbub Anam replaces Faruque Ahmed as new BPL chairman

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced on Thursday (June 19) the appointment of Mahbub Anam as the new chairman of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He succeeds Faruque Ahmed in this role. The decision was formalized during a meeting held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Mahbub Anam will be the new BPL chairman. © BCB

In related developments, Nazmul Abedin, a prominent BCB director, will continue as the member secretary of the BPL governing council. Faim Sinha will also serve as a member of the governing council.

"Mahbub bhai was named as the new chairman of BPL governing council," a BCB official confirmed.

The BPL governing council is set to commence with the next edition of the tournament, following the completion of the three-year cycle with the 2024-25 edition.

The BPL faced criticism last year due to issues concerning non-payment and allegations of fixing. These issues prompted the formation of an investigation committee, although its report has yet to be released publicly.

According to a BCB official, there are plans to host the tournament in December, but the feasibility of this is uncertain. "BPL's slot is always in December so we had a small meeting following the board meeting as everyone is busy with the carnival (to celebrate 25 years of Test cricket)," the official stated.

The official further added, "We had some preliminary discussions on which model we want to hold the BPL. We have to increase the brand value of BPL and that will the biggest challenge for us. We will be taking help from professional consultants and consultancy firm or agency will be considered in this regard. We are thinking four or five year's cycle. We started the discussion today and next week we will shape things up."

He also noted the challenges involved in organizing the BPL, "Whether we can do BPL can only be said when we start our work. We have to come up with a new model and approach and if we face too many challenges, it could be that instead of seven teams, there will be five teams. Even if in a small scale, we want to hold a T20 event," he added.

While there are doubts about hosting the next BPL before the general elections, the official expressed optimism that a well-structured model could attract companies to invest in franchises.

"Big challenge but international bidding and if we can enact a good business model like other franchise leagues, then good organizations would be interested to come," said the official. "We will pitch our ideas and our model to different companies and see whose approval we have got."

In addition to discussions about the BPL, BCB directors also addressed the media rights bidding process and made plans for the carnival celebrating 25 years of Test cricket.