Comilla Victorians, the four-time winners, have threatened to withdraw from the only franchise-based Twenty20 tournament in the nation, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), if revenue sharing is not agreed upon for the upcoming season.
Nafisa Kamal, the owner of the franchise, stated three days before the BPL’s commencement that the league’s existing format would make it tough for them to continue competing. Four years after Nafisa informed Cricbuzz in 2019 that BPL should implement a revenue-sharing model, nothing has changed in this area. In 2022, the BPL governing council made it clear that they had no interest in splitting profits with the franchises.
“Yes, without a doubt. “If the revenue is not shared, I will not be staying in the BPL,” a disgruntled Nafisa declared to reporters on Monday at her office. “Ticket rights, ground rights, and media rights – these three things (Victorians want a share),” she stated.
“Despite having such a large population, we still trail behind in broadcasting even though we founded BPL a long time ago. If we owned half the ticket sales rights, not a single ticket would go unsold. “Neither the media nor the ground rights are granted to us by BCB,” the speaker continued. “The BPL is in no way similar to the way a franchise tournament should operate in theory or concept. None of the privileges that a franchise ought to have are granted to us.
“At the end of the day, it feels good when we can achieve equilibrium. We would lie about profit, but why? Profit was never our goal, she continued.
Although Nafisa acknowledged that the franchisees are significant stakeholders and should be treated with respect by the board, she also pointed out that the franchises have not met with the organizers to voice their concerns about the excessive spending. “I can’t recall the last time they were seated with us. This year, I simply instructed them to arrange a meeting and have a face-to-face discussion, but that didn’t occur “explained Nafisa. “I desired to meet with someone. Following our victory in the previous year’s press conference, I requested a meeting.”
Nafisa also disclosed that she will join the board following the departure of BCB president Nazmul Hasan, but she clarified that, for the time being at least, she is not looking to occupy the hot seat.