BCB pondering options, vaccinating players for DPL

Bangladesh Cricket Board is assessing their options with regards to resuming the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in the near future, and also waiting for the opportunity to vaccinate the players involved in the tournament, provided the vaccine arrives on time.

The premier 50-over tournament of the country was put on hold after round one in March this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Cricket returned in Bangladesh with the three-team BCB President’s Cup in October, followed by the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

These two tournaments have been arranged under the bio-secure bubble, maintaining all health protocols set by the government, but doing the same for all 12 teams in Dhaka League would be a challenge in itself.

Cricket’s governing body in the country is exploring its options which are dependent on a lot of factors.

"We organized the one-day tournament (President's Cup) with three teams. Now the Bangabandhu T20 Cup is ongoing with five teams. Thus far we have been able to keep the players of this tournament in a bio-secure bubble at (Hotel Pan Pacific) Sonargaon. But there are 12 teams in the Dhaka Premier League, so we are thinking about our options at the moment,” Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed said to the media at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium Saturday.

“You have to remember, this tournament (Dhaka League) is very important for us. We have been in ongoing discussions about this with the board president (Nazmul Hasan) in the last three days.

"We have a few options. One of them is to hold the league outside Dhaka, we have talked about this before. Now we are assessing our options. We are also discussing the possibility of organizing it in Dhaka. The thing is, the Bangladesh government is saying a vaccine is on its way soon. In that regard, we would try our best to vaccinate the players, along with those who are around the players during the tournament," he added.

In order to maintain the regular calendar of the Premier League, the CCDM might have to hold two editions in the same year. 

If that be the case, then the DPL will be held in accordance with the single-league system, informed CCDM chairman.

"If we need to hold two editions in a year, or for that matter eight months, we would explore the options of holding two single leagues. But the welfare of the players and clubs must be taken into account. Right now we just want to hold the pending league (2019/20 season) and complete it," said Inam.