Crisis on clubs’ league participation on the way to being resolved

There were concerns over the first division league taking place after various clubs had wanted to boycott the leagues over circumstances related to BCB elections. The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) held a meeting primarily with First Division clubs and CCDM chairman Adnan Rahman Dipon later informed that the meeting's results were positive and the situation over clubs' participation was set to be solved.

Clubs had reservations over starting the league just seven to eight months after finishing the last edition given financial limitations and scheduling issues. It was learned that four of the clubs were not in the meeting out of 20 from first division.

"Virtually all the clubs were present. No club suggested or said anything about not playing the league. Everyone said they would play the league. They are just differing a bit regarding the timing. So far, the good news is that they are very much interested to play for this year; they will definitely play this year. And we will very soon declare the date for start date of the league," Dipon said.

He also informed that they are looking to start the league in November.

"They are just discussing the timing. Someone is suggesting playing the league after seven months, because a club has a lot of financial involvement. Someone else suggests pushing it back by two months, and another suggests following the date from last year. But we, officially from the board, have made a decision—the CCDM's decision is final—that we will start from November," Dipon informed.

CCDM informed that apart from solving the financial and structural issues of the clubs, grounds are also being considered for holding the league.

"Bashundhara, BKSP One and Two—we are starting with these. Then there's the one in Keraniganj, Teghuria, and Mohammadpur City Corporation. We will start the First Division with these, because there are some National League matches until the 20th. After the 20th, we can go to BKSP," he said.

The CCDM chairman also suggested that they are starting the first division at the beginning because they are thinking about the players.

"Why is it starting with the First, Second, and Third Divisions first? Because our plan and the board's plan is that if players from the First Division can't play, they can play in the Second Division. If Second Division players can't play, they can play in the Third Division. But if we start with the Third Division, we face a problem that I, as a club organizer, have faced for the last four years, and my Vice Chairman and Nazmul Bhai have also faced—we are all club people. The reality is that it's rare for players who couldn't make it to the Third Division to then play in the Second or First Division. So, a player's whole year is wasted. We want the players to be able to play. That's the main reason. The second reason is related to the weather. The First Division follows right after the Premier League. Weather, wicket, many advantages are needed. Because every year, a few players from the First Division play in the Premier League. To provide them with a better playing environment, and because the grounds are very good at the start—as you all know about the grounds—that's why we will start with the First Division, followed by the Second and Third Divisions," he said about the priority being placed on First Division.