BPL GC extends bank guarantee deadline to Nov 18

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Governing Council has extended the deadline for franchises to submit their bank guarantees to November 18, following requests from several teams for additional time, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official confirmed on Thursday.

"As some teams requested, it has been extended to the 18th," BCB's media committee chairman Amzad Hussain told The Daily Star.

Earlier, when the BPL GC announced the five franchise names on November 6, teams were instructed to submit their bank guarantees within five working days, a period that ended on Thursday.

"They [franchises] said that the time was not sufficient because the bank takes a few days to process collateral and create charge documents," he said.

Amzad didn't disclose how many franchises requested for the deadline extension but claimed that if any team fails to provide the bank guarantee of Tk 10 crores within the new timeframe, their franchise fee of Tk 2 crores will be forfeited.

The BPL GC has already confirmed November 23 as the date for the players' auction. The 12th edition of the franchise-based T20 league will feature five teams -- Dhaka Capitals, Chattogram Royals, Rajshahi Warriors, Rangpur Riders, and Sylhet Titans -- and is slated to begin on December 19.

Each franchise must recruit at least 11 local players and a minimum of two overseas players through the auction. Teams can also directly sign up to two local players from Category A or B before the auction.

The local players purse is set at Tk 4.5 crores (excluding two direct signings), while the overseas purse stands at $350,000 (including direct signings).