BPL officials have failed to create market for the competition to add value to it, remarks Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan has criticized Bangladesh Premier League organizers, saying they have failed to create a market for the tournament in order to make it one of the most talked-about franchise leagues in the world. The Bangladeshi all-rounder even questioned the standard of the competition.
The new edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to get underway on January 6 with Chattogram Challengers taking on Sylhet Strikers at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. A total of 46 matches will be played in the coming season, where seven teams will fight for the four spots in the Playoffs. The final is scheduled to take place in Dhaka as well, on February 16.
Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will captain Fortune Barishal, where the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kusal Perera, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Mahmudullah will play alongside him. Just as the competition is about to begin, Shakib took the center stage by expressing his frustration over BPL while attending a press conference on Wednesday.
“I don't know about the standard of BPL. It is difficult to say whether we could not or didn't want (to make it successful). I don't see any reason not to do if we want with the possibility we have in Bangladesh. I think we've never wanted to do anything honestly,” Shakib told the reporters, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
"There is no market (for BPL) because we could not create a market for it because if we could add value to it certainly this market would have been a big one. You won't find any remote area where cricket is not played. So it is difficult to believe there is no market in a country with a population of 16 to 20 Crore where the sport has such popularity. So this is a big failure from a marketing point of view because that is the reason we could not create a market like it (IPL).”
Furthermore, Shakib even opined that their very-own Dhaka Premier League (DPL) is better than their country’s elite T20 competition in terms of standards and budget.
"I don't know why (there is no DRS) probably there is a budget crisis. I don't see any reason why we don't have DRS or a draft or auction before three months. Now a player will come and then will leave after one or two days,” the 35-year-old added.
“The players did not get their outfits. I saw these in your news. The situation is very bad. I think our Dhaka Premier League (DPL) maybe is better than this (BPL) because they get time to prepare the team at least. They know what is happening in the team so that they can prepare accordingly. If you see next year's DPL everyone knows who is playing for which team. We don't understand anything about BPL and it gets started after the match is played.”