Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is all set to launch the first Women's Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL) immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing Men's BPL.
The inaugural edition of Women's Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL) will be held from February 8 – 15 and the tournament will feature three teams. Each team will face the other twice in six league matches before the final showdown.
Bangladesh is gearing up to host the first Women's Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL) in February 2025
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing president Nazmul Abedin has confirmed the launch of WBPL next month and said they are ready to start the three-team league this year. Earlier, the BCB considered four teams for the Women's Bangladesh Premier League, but they felt that a three-team competition would be more competitive.
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Nazmul Abedin was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying, “The plan is to run it (WBPL) with three teams. To organize a quality tournament, you need a sufficient number of talented players. Expanding beyond three teams would dilute the quality. Although we considered four teams, we decided this format was more feasible.”
Abedin emphasized that the Bangladesh Cricket Board is not hosting the Bangladesh Women's Premier League for financial reasons only, but aims to raise the standard of women's cricket in the country through this exciting competition.
BCB aims to improve the standard of women's cricket through the WBPL
The BCB President further mentioned, “Our focus is not only on hosting a tournament for financial gains but also on improving the standard of women's cricket. A three-team competition will be more competitive. It will take place shortly after the conclusion of the men's BPL, which will last for eight to nine days. Discussions with the franchises have already taken place and they are keen to participate.”
Meanwhile, the Women's Bangladesh Premier League is all set to make its debut with a unique team composition that allows only one foreign player in each playing XI. Each of the three participating teams will have to pick 15 local players, with the quota of foreign players left open to bring an international flavor to the WBPL.
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All the inaugural WBPL matches are scheduled to be held at the iconic Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The BCB decided to continue with three teams to focus on the available pool of skilled players from Bangladesh to ensure a competitive and high quality event.
Financial problems will not affect women's BPL: Nazmul Abedin
On the other hand, Nazmul Abedin, who is also the member secretary of the BPL board, insisted that there will be no wage issues in WBPL like BPL. Recently the players of BPL team Durbar Rajshahi protested against the franchise owners for unpaid salaries.
Nazmul Abedin signed off: “We are committed to meticulously addressing technical and financial issues. These issues will not affect BPL in women. There were doubts whether we could successfully organize this BPL. Many franchises left during transitions and we took a risk. Although some areas did not go as planned, we aim to address these issues further.”