BPL Resumes Player Auction after 12 years for 2025 season, replacing Draft System

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Governing Council has announced that the players’ auction is returning after a 12-year hiatus. The auction system was last used in the first two editions of the tournament, in 2012 and 2013, after which the league adopted a players’ draft format for the next nine seasons.

The five franchises—Dhaka Capitals, Chittagong Royals, Rajshahi Warriors, Rangpur Riders, and Sylhet Titans—will participate to form their teams for the 12th edition of the franchise-based T20 league at the city hotel on November 23. Teams will have a budget limit of up to BDT 45 million for local players, excluding payments to directly contracted players.

The new player auction system for the BPL will classify local and foreign players into separate categories, each with structured base prices and bid increments. Local players will be divided into six categories, while foreign players will fall into five categories.

For local cricketers, the base price for players in the top ‘A’ category will be BDT 5 million, with bid increments up to BDT 5 Lakh. For foreign players, the highest bidding range will start at US$35,000, and bidding will increase in US$5,000 increments.

Each franchise will be allowed to sign two Bangladeshi players and one or two foreign players from the A and B categories immediately before the auction, subject to the permission of the BPL Governing Council.

The auction will be held in two phases, first for local players and then for foreign players. Each franchise must buy at least 11 local players from the auction, and a team can only have a maximum of 15 local players. Directly contracted players will not be included in this auction requirement.

Each team must buy at least two foreign players through the auction, and they set the maximum budget for foreign players, including directly contracted players, at US$350,000 per team.

                                               

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