Sylhet franchise to return in the Bangladesh Premier League this year

The fifth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League is set to be contested between 8 teams as the Sylhet franchise is set to make a comeback to the league this year. The Sylhet missed the previous season in 2016 as they franchise owners failed to submit the team fee to cricket’s governing body in the country and paying players for their contract money in their last appearance in 2015.

Following the turn of events, Sylhet franchise which was owned by Alif Group, Sylhet’s agreement was cut off. The franchise is set to return to the tournament following interest shown by Finance Minister of Bangladesh: Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. The name of the company which will operate the franchise is still no disclosed.

“We did not sell Sylhet franchise last season because we were waiting for a good company to come up for the franchise. The Finance Minister showed interest to patronise this team now and I believe it is a very good option for us. I hope the team will run smoothly and professionally under his (Abul Maal Abdul Muhith) leadership,” Sheikh Sohel, a member of the BPL governing council, told the media.

Sylhet is also likely to become the third venue apart from Dhaka and Chittagong for the cash-rich BPL. The fifth edition of the tournament is likely to be played in December this year.

“We are in discussion of having Sylhet as the third venue for the tournament this year. If everything falls into place, the Sylhet Divisional Stadium will be part of the tournament,” Sohel informed.

After topping the tables in the league stages, Dhaka Dynamos were crowned champions of the BPL in 2016 when they beat Rajshahi Kings by 56 runs in a one-sided final held at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Dhaka the most successful franchise in BPL

The Dhaka franchise has won the most titles so far. Playing under the name of Dhaka Gladiators in the first two seasons, Dhaka has till date three titles to their name including the last one.

The Sylhet franchise has never been in the finals of the BPL yet. They finished at the second last position in the points table with just 3 wins out of 10 games when they last appeared in the BP in 2015. The new owners will be keen to turnaround their performance in the tournament so far.