The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the franchise-based T20 tournament is set to kick off tomorrow (Friday) amid the absence of Decision Review System (DRS).
The players and officials publicly criticized the BPL management for not adding DRS system to the tournament from the beginning. Star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan even made a scathing comment, stating that the BPL has been in tatters and there is reluctance from the management to fix all those issues. Comilla Victorians coach Salahuddin also raised board’s lack of willingness to introduce DRS from the beginning.
However amid those issues, BPL will roll onto the ground with two matches-Chattogram Challengers will take on Sylhet Strikers in the first match of the day, which starts at 2.30 PM and Comilla Victorians will face off Rangpur Riders in the second game. The night match will begin from 7.15 PM. But weekdays matches including Saturday will start from 2 PM and 7 PM.
Both of the matches however will be held at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Initially ADRS (Additional Decision Review System), which has some limitations, will be used in those matches. The BPL governing council informed that the DRS will be introduced from the knock phase. Last year’s BPL saw some controversy in some crucial matches due to the absence of DRS, which is why, players and officials expected that the BPL governing council will act promptly to manage it from the beginning.
“Our production team informed about this (DRS) two/three months ago. After that we tried our best to bring DRS. We have also contacted the ICC about this. But for some reason it was not possible to bring. Because several international crickets are going on at the same time. Some franchise leagues are also running. Due to these reasons, we could not bring DRS,” BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said here today.
Along with the BPL, SA T20 in South Africa (January 10) and the ILT in Abu Dhabi (January 13) will also begin. Those competitions are going to be held on the ground for the first time. The organizers have ensured all possible facilities since the first season and DRS is one of them. Although BPL is an old season, there is no innovation and there is not even a little facility like DRS.
Nizam Uuddin Chowdhury admitted the limitations and shortcomings of BPL.
“We definitely had limitations here. Due to which our production house could not bring it. We also tried hard enough on our part after knowing this. But currently those who provide DRS services do not have enough manpower,” he added.
DRS costs a huge amount of money and a month of BPL will cost more than some crores. The CEO dismissed the notion that the board has lack of money or lack of effort.
“There was no issue of money here. When we came to know about DRS, we always tried. I have personally spoken to the commercial head of ICC. Because he has a good relationship with DRS company. I have also contacted other boards but they are booked and locked at the moment. So that has gone beyond our limits.”
