Iftikhar told reporters, "The board has decided to host the BPL from mid-December to mid-January. Given the short window we have this year, we are comfortable with five teams. That doesn't mean it can't be six or seven in the future, but our priority is to stage a five-team BPL within a one-month window."
Major Update coming from upcoming Bangladesh Premier League: Know more about it
There is a major update from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as the number of teams and the tournament timeline for the next edition have been revealed.
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There is a major update from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as the number of teams and the tournament timeline for the next edition have been revealed.
Next BPL will run with 5 teams from mid-December to mid-January
While the T20 leagues are dominating world cricket, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 timeline has also put the upcoming BPL edition under pressure. India and Sri Lanka will jointly host the upcoming men's T20 World Cup in February and March 2026. So, the BPL 2025/26 will run between mid-December and mid-January, unlike the previous editions that stretched to at least February.
The BPL GC secretary Iftikhar Rahman Mithu has also confirmed that they will comfortably run the BPL 2025/26 season within the new timeline with five teams. Since the inaugural edition of the BPL in 2012, the lowest number of teams participating in a tournament was six, which happened thrice (2012, 2015, and 2022). However, the GC secretary also added that the tournament could return to six or seven teams in the future.
He further clarified, "We have to finish in the month of January. The window he mentioned, we have to finish before the February World Cup. I am not saying that it cannot be six or seven but at this point we are comfortable running it with five teams in this one-month window. So, our priority is the first five teams. We are starting fresh this year. The Expression of Interest (EOI) will be announced tomorrow."
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Defending champions may not play upcoming BPL edition
According to the latest Cricbuzz report, the last two-time champions Fortune Barishal may not participate in the forthcoming BPL edition. Their captain Tamim Iqbal recently said that they won't participate in any cricket tournament under the leadership of Aminul Islam Bulbul after terming his position as the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) illegal.
However, hopeful Iftikhar has requested the latest two-time BPL champions to stay in the upcoming BPL edition. He said, "My request is that it would be good if they (Fortune Barishal team) come. I can't force anyone to come. We welcome them; they have run their team well and we have never had any complaints. So, we always want well-managed teams like theirs to participate. We are open, but we can't force anyone."
