The 11th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is scheduled to begin on December 27 and the player draft is set for October 14.

Ahead of the draft, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) released the price list and categories of the players. Six categories have been created with the highest category offering Tk 6 million and the lowest Tk 1 million.

Imrul Kayes, who was placed in the ‘C’ category, raised questions about the fairness of the grading system. The veteran cricketer took to Facebook on Friday to express his concerns, pointing out inconsistencies in the way players are evaluated.

Kayes questioned the criteria used to assign player ratings in the BPL, stating: “Having seen the rankings of players before the BPL draft, I wonder what the rankings are actually based on. Is it based on on national team performance, year-long national performance, BPL performance, or just the player’s name? Some players who have not played cricket all year are classified as ‘B’ category,? while those who performed brilliantly in the last BPL are stuck in the ‘C’ category. Is the ranking determined only by name and reputation?

Kayes expressed frustration with the apparent lack of merit-based grading and shared his own experience of losing his place in the national team. Reflecting on the 2018-19 BPL season, when he played for the Comilla Victorians, Kayes admitted: “I didn’t perform well that season, and after the West Indies series, I was excluded from the national team When I spoke to a BCB official later, he explained that I had been excluded due to my relatively poor performance in BPL. I accepted the decision without hesitation.

However, Kayes stressed that even strong performances in BPL do not guarantee a return to the national team. “In the 2019-20 season, I scored 442 runs in 13 matches for Chattogram Challengers, but despite such a performance, I was not called up to the national team. I was not even included in any national team camp So if you don’t play in the BPL you are out but even when you play it is not taken into account Will the tough times in our cricket ever end? lamented.

Although he did not name specific players, Kayes’ comments reignited questions about the BPL’s scoring system. For example, pacer Ebadot Hossain is in the ‘C’ category, while Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who moved away from cricket, has been placed in the ‘B’ category.

As the BPL draft approaches, Kayes’ concerns have sparked a broader discussion about the transparency and fairness of the player rating system, raising issues that may need to be resolved before the tournament begins.