Gemcon acquires Khulna BPL franchise

The BCB has approved Gemcon Group as the new owner of the Khulna franchise while the Rajshahi franchise will be owned by Renaissance Group, board director Sheikh Sohel said yesterday. Sylhet will also have a change in ownership after the previous franchise owner, Alif Group, failed to clear the franchise fee to the BCB and make payments to its players last season. “We are including two more franchises from the next edition of BPL,” Sohel said after a BPL governing council meeting on Thursday. “Renaissance Group will take Rajshahi while Gemcon Group will have Khulna. We are also looking for new owners for Sylhet Superstars as we had to cut off our agreement with the previous owners due to their failure to pay.” The BCB president Nazmul Hasan said earlier this year that they will take legal steps against Alif Group, the Sylhet franchise owners. It is understood that the BPL GC is in talks with one of the leading corporate house of the country regarding the new ownership of the Sylhet franchise. The tournament as a result is likely to have at least eight teams, rising from the six that participated in the 2015 edition. Both Rajshahi and Khulna will make a return into the tournament after missing the previous edition. The first two season Rajshahi were owned by Digital Autos while Khulna was owned by Orion Group till 2013. The six other franchises are Dhaka, Chittagong, reigning champions Comilla, Barisal, Sylhet and Rangpur.