BPL 2025 players' draft: Key details and what to expect

The 11th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 players' draft is set to take place at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka on Monday. The draft will feature both local and overseas players, categorised according to their respective grades.

The event will be broadcast live on T Sports and streamed live on Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) social media platforms as well as the BPL's official Facebook page. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the event:

FRANCHISES

• Fortune Barishal, by Fortune Shoes Limited
• Rangpur Riders, by Toggy Sports Limited
• Khulna Tigers, by Mind Tree
• Sylhet Strikers, by Future Sports Bangladesh Limited
• Dhaka Capitals, by Champions Sports Limited – supported by Walton Group / Harlan & Remarks brand
• Durbar Rajshahi, by Valentine Group
• Chittagong Kings, by SQ Sports Enterprise Limited

TOTAL SQUAD

The minimum franchise squad size is 12 players (local: 10 and overseas: 2), and the maximum is unlimited, as any team can register an unlimited number of overseas players. However, maximum local player registration is limited to 14.

FIXED REMUNERATION CAP (LOCAL)

Each franchise will have a fixed remuneration cap of Tk four crore for recruiting local players. All teams are required to ensure that their expenditure on local player recruitment remains within this designated remuneration cap. The expenses for retention and direct signing players will not be counted towards the fixed remuneration cap for local players.

LOCAL PLAYER RETENTION AND DIRECT SIGNING FOR EXISTING TEAMS

Franchise teams can retain a maximum of two local players from their squad from the previous edition. This local retention policy is applicable only to the following four existing franchise teams: Fortune Barishal, Sylhet Strikers, Khulna Tigers, and Rangpur Riders. Existing teams, who have the option to retain players, can recruit only one local player from any category.

LOCAL PLAYER DIRECT SIGNING FOR NEW TEAMS

The newly awarded franchises -- Dhaka Capitals, Durbar Rajshahi, and Chittagong Kings -- can recruit two local players from any category as a direct signing from the local players' draft list.

AUCTION FOR UNSOLD CATEGORY 'A' PLAYERS

If an 'A' category player remains unsold after the draft process, the draft commissioner will invite the interested franchises for an auction to grab the designated players. The base price for these unsold players will be set at 50% of the player's total remuneration. If the auction of a particular 'A' category player reaches Tk 60 lakh -- the top price cap for the tournament -- and multiple franchises are still interested in acquiring the player, a lottery system will decide the final winner. Each subsequent bid increment shall be a minimum of Tk five lakh.

FIXED REMUNERATION CAP (OVERSEAS)

Each franchise will have a fixed remuneration cap of USD 2,50,000 for recruiting overseas players. A minimum of three overseas players must be recruited from the players' draft event.

TOTAL LOCAL AND OVERSEAS PLAYERS

A total of 188 local cricketers will be up for selection from the BPL players' draft 2025. The overseas list is expected to be ready by 12th October.

LOCAL PRICE CAP

The highest local price cap for next season will be Tk 60 lakh -- 25 percent less than the previous year -- while the lowest price cap will be Tk 10 lakh. There will be a total of six categories (from A to F) with price caps of Tk 60 lakh, Tk 40 lakh, Tk 25 lakh, Tk 20 lakh, Tk 15 lakh, and Tk 10 lakh.

OVERSEAS PRICE CAP

The overseas price cap starts with a highest of USD 70 thousand. There will be five different categories, and the lowest one is USD 15 thousand.