Future of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League this year has been pushed further into uncertainty as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is busy scheduling the resumption of international cricket.
BCB has recently been active planning the national team’s tour of Sri Lanka that will include at least a three-match Test series, which got postponed earlier this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The board is also planning to make the BCB High Performance tour the island alongside the national team.
BCB is in discussion with Sri Lanka Cricket to make the tour happen in October following the first edition of the Lanka Premier League Twenty20, scheduled to begin on August 28 and end with the final on September 20.
DPL, the premier 50-over tournament of the country, was suspended in March after completion of round one due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Since then the local players’ community has been pressing for resumption of the tournament, given that it is the bread earner for majority of the top fleet professional cricketers in the country.
BCB and Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis had the intention to resume the tournament in October under controlled environment but that hope is shrouded under dark cloud now.
It is evident that the clubs will not participate in the tournament without the presence of the national cricketers and those that will be part of the HP team.
“We haven’t sent any letter to the clubs, neither have we asked them anything verbally. We are not sure when we can start the tournament. We will sit after Eid-ul-Azha to take a decision about DPL,” said CCDM secretary Ali Hossain to the media Wednesday.
Ali further admitted that the clubs will not be ready to play without their key players who will be busy with national commitments.
“The HP and national team may go to Sri Lanka and if that is the case it will be very difficult [to resume league without key cricketers],” said Ali.
As a result, the Dhaka League may only take place in November if it has to as BCB also has to arrange other tournaments like Bangladesh Cricket League and Bangladesh Premier League T20 further down the calendar.
Then there is also another issue that most Dhaka League clubs are dealing with at the back end.
Speaking to representatives of different clubs, Dhaka Tribune found a common sentiment that the fund providers are busy recovering their businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and less concerned about funding the clubs.
“It is natural. This Covid-19 situation has affected even the biggest of the business houses of the country. All are now busy recovering from that and ensure that their office gets back to normal. So it is a concerning situation for us to be honest,” said an official of one of the leading clubs in Dhaka League requesting anonymity
“We would like to see the league resume or else it will put many cricketers in financial jeopardy. But with that said, it doesn’t ensure if that will benefit all the cricketers eventually. There will surely be irregularities with payments as the clubs will struggle raising the funds,” he added.