No Dhaka 1st and 2nd division clubs to be relegated this season
A Dhaka club official said on Saturday that no teams from the Dhaka First and Second Division Cricket Leagues will be relegated to lower tier this season.
“Today, the ad hoc committee president [Tamim Iqbal] met officials from 44 clubs. After the meeting, it was decided that there will be no relegation this year in the First and Second Division leagues. So all teams are safe and will be able to play in their respective divisions next year,” Young Pegasus Club-A councillor Ahsanur Rahman Mallick Rony told reporters after the meeting.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. However, Rony added that the president plans to hold further discussions with the four clubs that earned promotion to the next tier this season, and a decision regarding them will be taken in the coming days.
The clubs are: Gulshan Club, Young Pegasus Club-A, Dhanmondi Sports Club and Bashundhara Riders.
It is understood that if those clubs cannot be convinced, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is considering expanding the number of teams in each division. Under that scenario, the Premier League could feature 14 teams instead of 12, while the First Division may increase to 22 teams from the current 20.
Earlier this year, the First Division Cricket League was held with 12 clubs instead of 20, while the Second Division featured only 12 out of 24 clubs due to a conflict between the Dhaka clubs and the Aminul Islam Bulbul-led board over alleged election rigging.
The Bulbul-led board had taken a strong stance, announcing relegation as a punishment for clubs that refused to participate. However, following the dissolution of that board by the National Sports Council (NSC), the situation has changed drastically.
With the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) tentatively scheduled to begin in early May and the player transfer window set for April 21-22, the BCB is now working against time to finalise the domestic structure and ensure the season proceeds without further disruption as few clubs have already threaten not to participate in the DPL over few issues.
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