Bangladesh head coach unhappy with standard of BPL tournament

Over the years, Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been able to take off the way other T20 leagues have done. The first edition of the tournament was played way back in 2012, four years before the Pakistan Super League and as many years after the Indian Premier League. From the season itself, controversies ranging from pay defaults to match-fixing, the first few seasons were a disaster for the organizers to franchises.

In the last few seasons, a lot of franchises have been replaced, putting a dent in the tournament’s image over consistency. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s national Men’s team head coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe has raised concerns over the level of the league during the ongoing season. He said that the tournament’s standard is so low that he sometimes turns off his television set.

“We [Bangladesh] don’t have a proper T20 tournament,” Hathurusinghe told ESPNcricinfo. “This sounds very odd. When I am watching the BPL, I sometimes turn off the TV. Some players are not even of the [required] class. I have a big issue with the current system. The Apex Council need to step in. There has to be some regulations. A player is playing one tournament and then he is playing another tournament. It is like a circus. Players will talk about opportunities, but that’s not right. People will lose interest. I have lost interest.”

My suggestion is that we have another tournament before the BPL: Chandika Hathurusinghe

The former Sri Lanka player added that in the league, players from overseas play at the key positions in most of the team.

“We need to have a tournament where our players can do things like batting in the top three… Bangladesh bowlers bowling in the death,” he said. “Where will we learn these things otherwise? We have only one tournament.”

“My suggestion is that we have another tournament before the BPL,” he said. “The franchises do what they want. Some of the best players are not playing. Then how do you expect the Bangladesh team to be up with the other teams? I am fighting a steep battle.”