New Delhi: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken over the ownership rights of Chattogram Royals for the remainder of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season, it was confirmed on Thursday. The vice-chairman of the BCB Shakhawat Hossain, who is a member of BPL Governing Council, confirmed the development to Cricbuzz on Thursday.
The owner of the team Kayum Rashed submitted a written request to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, explaining the difficulties to run the team under the current circumstances and asked the board to take over the operations of the side.
BCB take ownership right of Chattogram Royals
As reported by Cricbuzz, the team owner said that: ‘We have taken over the ownership right of the team, and now the board will run the team,’ Shakhawat told. He further said that they will sit with the players and discuss the next steps that have to be taken in the future. As per the letter submitted to the board, the Royals franchise was not successful in attracting sponsors.
‘Since the acquisition of the franchise, there have been persistent and widespread speculations in various media outlets regarding the team’s uncertainty in participating in the tournament, as well as repeated questions surrounding the franchise’s financial and operational credibility. These rumours included, but were not limited to, allegations that franchise fees, bank guarantees, and players’ payments had not been made-despite the fact that such payments were not contractually required at those early stages,’ it was stated in the letter.
It is further mentioned in the report that BCB have appointed former national captain Habibul Bashar as mentor of the side while Mizanur Rahman Babul and Nafis Iqbal have been named as team managers of the Chattogram Royals. Many cricketers of the Royals decided to leave the team hotel on Wednesday as they failed to receive money from the franchise till last night.