DHAKA, Nov 13, 2025 (BSS) — The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 tournament will see players’ auction instead of players’ draft in this season.

This will be the first time in 12 years that the players’ auction will be used to recruit the players.

The first two editions of BPL in 2012 and 2013 saw the auction system earlier after which the last nine editions were held by a players' draft format.

However, the players’ auction for this season will be held on November 23 at a local hotel in the city, a BCB press release confirmed. 

Five franchises -- Dhaka Capitals, Chattogram Royals, Rajshahi Warriors, Rangpur Riders, and Sylhet Titans -- will take part in the 12th edition of the tournament. 

"Organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the BPL Governing Council, this year's auction will mark the beginning of a new franchise ownership cycle, introducing a restructured and transparent bidding process designed to align the BPL with international T20 franchise standards,” the BPL Governing Council said in a statement.

While in the players’ draft system, the franchisees select a player with certain financial range, in the auction system, the franchisees will bid for a particular player.

However, according to the press release, franchise bids will range from BDT 50,000 to BDT 5,00,000 across six local player categories and from USD 1,000 to USD 5,000 across five overseas categories.

Each franchise must recruit at least 11 local players and a minimum of two overseas players through the auction. Teams may also directly sign up to two local players from Category A or B prior to the auction.

The local player purse is set at BDT 4.5 crore (excluding the two direct signings), while the overseas purse stands at USD 350,000 (including direct signings).

Franchises will be allowed to register or replace overseas players during the tournament, subject to BPL Governing Council approval. Teams can field a minimum of two and a maximum of four overseas players in the playing XI.