“There aren’t many green lights for the BPL” – Lisa Sthalekar calls for change
A Critical Assessment of the Bangladesh Premier League
The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has occupied a significant space on the global cricketing calendar for over a decade. However, despite its longevity, the tournament has been plagued by recurring controversies that threaten its credibility. Among the most persistent and damaging issues is the failure of certain franchises to ensure timely payment of player salaries—a problem that has, in several instances, escalated into legal disputes.
The WCA Perspective
Against this challenging backdrop, Lisa Sthalekar, president of the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), has stepped forward to advocate for structural improvements. During her recent visit to Bangladesh for the commentary team duties of the Bangladesh-Australia series, Sthalekar offered a professional and blunt assessment of the league’s standing.
Highlighting the WCA’s approach to global oversight, Sthalekar explained the traffic-light system used to categorize T20 leagues. “What the World Cricketers’ Association does, and we have it on our website, is almost a traffic-light system of all the T20 leagues around the world. It’s to help players, administrators and agents understand what the issues have been and what the successful aspects of each T20 league are,” she noted. Regarding the status of the BPL within this framework, she did not mince words: “Obviously, if you look at the BPL, its traffic light doesn’t have a lot of green, unfortunately.”
Opportunities for the New Administration
Despite her critique, Sthalekar remains optimistic about the potential for reform. She highlighted that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is currently under new leadership, providing a fresh opportunity to rectify past mistakes. Sthalekar believes that by prioritizing the professional treatment of athletes, the league can transition from the amber and red categories into the green, effectively attracting more international talent to Bangladesh.
“This is an opportunity for them as a new organisation and executive committee to work with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to ensure that overseas players want to come here and play,” she stated. She emphasized that Bangladesh possesses world-class facilities and high-caliber domestic cricketers, making the aspiration for a prosperous league entirely achievable if governance standards are raised.
The Importance of Player Welfare
At the heart of Sthalekar’s argument is the fundamental principle that professional cricketers deserve to be paid for their labor. Drawing a comparison to other professions, she remarked, “For professional cricketers, this is their job. It’s the same for journalists—you expect to be paid for your work. I don’t think it makes a difference. A professional cricketer, if they’ve gone out and played cricket and done their job, should be paid for it.”
Sthalekar clarified that while the WCA focuses its primary efforts on ICC-level events, the responsibility for domestic matters lies with local entities. She recently engaged in discussions with representatives from the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), including Mithun, to better understand how they are navigating these turbulent times.
“It’s been great to actually be here in Bangladesh and catch up with Mithun and a number of the other committee members… It was wonderful to get an understanding of what the new administration has been doing. Obviously, there have been some challenging times for them, and they’ve probably faced a fair bit of criticism, but at the end of the day, they’re here representing all professional cricketers in Bangladesh, and I think they’ve been doing a wonderful job,” she concluded. As the BPL looks to the future, the integration of these recommendations may well determine whether the tournament can regain its reputation on the international stage.
