Bangladesh Cricket Board president Tamim Iqbal said on Saturday that they are looking to introduce a tripartite agreement involving the board, clubs, and players in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), the country's traditional List-A tournament played by Dhaka-based clubs, according to Cricbuzz.
After taking over as interim head, Tamim promised to start the DPL as soon as possible, as it had been boycotted by most Dhaka-based clubs. They had refused to take part under the Aminul Islam Bulbul-led board, alleging it to be illegal. This eventually proved to be the case, as the National Sports Council dissolved the previous board after finding misuse of power following an assessment report by an investigation committee.
Tamim has managed to keep his promise, as the BCB and the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis earlier announced that DPL 2025-26 is scheduled to commence on May 4 and conclude on June 11. The league will follow a single-league format this season, with the Super League and Relegation League stages removed.
However, players' payments have always been an issue in the DPL since its inception. Keeping that in mind, Tamim - who is well aware of the problem - insisted that a tripartite agreement could help players secure their payments in the coming days.
The interim head also stressed that clubs should honor player payments, even though they are lower than in previous seasons. Many clubs argued they did not have enough time to arrange funds for squad preparation, while others felt that without a relegation league, there was no point in spending heavily this season.
"Normally, the Cricket Board doesn't take any liability regarding payment issues in the Dhaka Premier League because the deal is between the club and the players. But in the last few years, the payments players have been receiving have reduced quite a lot, as far as I know. So I think we will request that the clubs honor their contracts with the players," said Tamim.
"In the future, we are discussing how we can make this more systematic so that the commitments made by both sides are fulfilled. As I mentioned, we had very little time, and starting work on this from the first day I took charge was the most important thing. But you rightly pointed out that every year some problem arises regarding this issue. This is something we need to address when an elected body comes in. If we're elected again, it should be formalized and resolved as much as possible," he said.
"That's why I said that if we can bring it under a proper tripartite contract, where the BCB also contributes to the clubs, it would be better," he added.
"But as we all know, this has been going on for around 37 years. It's impossible to change it suddenly in a month or 20 days, but this is something I genuinely think should happen. As I told you, in the coming months, if an elected body is in place and I am there along with my colleagues, this is something we really want to work on," he added.
Tamim also said he is open to bringing foreign cricketers into the DPL if it increases competitiveness and if the clubs agree.
Earlier, several foreign cricketers were allowed to take part in the DPL. This was later reduced to one player per team, and eventually, foreign cricketers were barred altogether, as their presence was seen as limiting opportunities for local players.
"There are two sides to the story," Tamim said regarding the inclusion of foreign cricketers.
"At one time there were three foreign players, then two, then one. Having none means more opportunities for local players-that's one advantage. But if one or two are
allowed, the competitiveness of the league increases," he said.
"So this is something we need to discuss with the participating clubs. There are 12 teams in the Premier League, and we can talk with them in the future about whether to bring back foreign players or not. Bringing in foreign cricketers adds international quality to the tournament. Many big players have featured here before," he said.
"So this is something we need to consider. It's not that it can't be done or shouldn't happen. To make the tournament more exciting and attract more sponsors, we may need to take such decisions in the future," he added.
"I am open to it (bringing foreign cricketers into the DPL)," he said.
