The Bangladesh Premier League's governing council yesterday declared the six icon players, the list of the registered foreign and local players and the schedule of the third season of the BPL at a press conference in Mirpur.

Senior national players Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyad have been deemed as the icon players of the tournament and will earn the highest, Tk 35 lakh, amongst the local players.

Apart from the six of them, the BCB also revealed a list that included the names of the 117 local players that have been registered for the tournament. They have been divided into four grades. Grade A includes 17 players, grade B has 36 players, grade C has 43 and grade D has 21 players.

196 foreign players have also been divided, with players belonging to grade A costing the highest, USD 70,000. On the other hand, players belonging to grades B, C and D will earn USD 50,000, 40,000 and 30,000 respectively.

The players' auction will take place on October 26, where the six franchises can buy players as per the player-by-choice system.

While local players can only be bought on October 26, when the auction takes place, the foreign players can directly sign deals with the franchises. According to the governing council, franchises have already signed the likes of Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle.

"If a franchise buys a player before-hand, the player's name will be removed from the players' transfer list," said Mallick.

"However, if a foreign player is bought directly by a franchise with an amount that exceeds the price of his grade, then the BCB will not be liable for the additional fee.

"For example, if a player who belongs to grade A [with a cost price of USD 70,000] is directly bought by the franchisee for a price more than 70,000, then the BCB will not act as the guarantor for the extra money. We will only be liable for USD 70,000," added Mallick.

The tournament will begin on November 20 and end on December 15 with the games taking place in Dhaka and Chittagong. Of the 196 foreign players that have registered, 53 belong to England, 53 from Pakistan, 34 from the West Indies, 25 from  Sri Lanka, four players each from South Africa and Australia, six from Zimbabwe and two from New Zealand. The remaining 15 are from the non-full member nations.

Surprisingly though, the playing conditions of the competition are yet to be finalised.