MIRPUR: The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Durbar Rajshahi violated a major rule of the franchise league by fielding no foreign players during their match against Rangpur Riders here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.
At the toss of the 34th match of the ongoing 11th edition of the league, Rajshahi’s captain Taskin Ahmed confirmed the development, stating, "All locals today".
The move, however, contradicts the squad composition regulations of the BPL, which bound the teams to include at least two foreign players in their lineup for each fixture.
"Franchise must include minimum two (02) and maximum four (04) Overseas Players in its starting / playing XI on the field of play in any match all the time in relation to 9th, 10th & 11th edition/season of BPL T20," states a BPL rule related to the composition of the playing XI.
However, as per the local media, the franchise team was given the relaxation by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) due to the ‘unavailability’ of their foreign players, who are reportedly boycotting any further activity until the clearance of their unpaid dues.
"Durbar Rajshahi Granted Permission to Field All Local Players in BPL 2025 Match Against Rangpur Riders. DHAKA, Sunday, 26 January,” local media quoted BCB.
“The Durbar Rajshahi team, currently competing in the 2025 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20, has applied to the BPL Technical Committee for special approval to field a team consisting solely of Bangladeshi players for today's match against Rangpur Riders due to the non-availability of overseas players.
“After a review of the request and in accordance with the provisions outlined in Clause 1.2.8 of the Match Playing Conditions of BPL 2024-25, the Technical Committee has granted approval for Durbar Rajshahi to field a team consisting of only Bangladeshi players for this match."
For the unversed, the development came just 10 days after Durbar Rajshahi’s players refused to participate in the team’s scheduled training session in protest over unpaid dues.
In response, the franchise issued a public apology and vowed to clear 50% of the pending payments by January 16.
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