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The governing council of Bangladesh Premier League has announced the participation of six teams in the eighth edition of the country's premier T20 tournament, starting from January 20, 2022. The previous edition of the T20 tournament had to be scrapped due to upsurge in Covid cases, whereas the inaugural edition was held in the absence of foreign players.
Reportedly, Rupa & Marn Group (Dhaka Division), Progoti Group (Sylhet Division) and Mind Tree (Khulna Division) will participate in the tournament as fresh franchises. Akhtar Group and Fortune Group have bagged the rights for Chattogram Division and Barishal Division respectively.
Only three overseas players allowed in BPL eighth edition
However, BPL suffered a major blow when franchises like Dhaka Dynamites, Khulna Titans and Rangpur Riders pulled themselves out of the tournament. Meanwhile, KM Rifatuzzaman, the MD of the Chattogram Challengers reportedly confirmed a major amendment in the earlier provision which allowed four foreign players from each team in a match. "In the last edition, there was a provision of playing four overseas players while in this edition three players will be taking part for each franchise. The date for the draft is yet to be finalized and once it is finalized, we would be more organized."
The BPL is scheduled to take place from January 20 to February 20, 2022. But, the tournament is clashing with the Pakistan Super League, which is set to start on January 27. However, Rifatuzzaman believes that schedule clashing with PSL is not a major concern but the rising Covid variants will be a matter of discussion and the league will be held keeping all the protocols and safety norms intact.
Notably, PSL's draft took place on December 12 in Lahore where six franchises participated in the draft. Each team got an opportunity to retain a maximum of eight players, including two players as supplements for scenarios such as injury and Covid cases.