BCB starts to pay BPL dues of local players

The BCB has started to make payments on Sunday to local players who have dues from BPL franchises. According to board directors, the sum to be paid this time is around Tk 2.10 crore (approx. $270,000) to about 70 cricketers.

BPL governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha said the payments were made by the BCB after the franchises failed to give the players their due money. The governing council had asked BCB director Naimur Rahman to investigate the players' dues and draw up a list for payment. It remained unclear whether this is the full payment for the local players who were unpaid for more than two years.

Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Mithun, Sohag Gazi, Sabbir Rahman, Alok Kapali, Nazmul Hossain, Anamul Haque, Nazmul Hossain Milon and some other cricketers were seen entering the BCB offices in Mirpur, and an hour later some of them were seen walking out with cheques in hand. Only Anamul showed any sign of relief as he did a little celebratory jig.

It was learned that several of these cricketers were unhappy with the amount given to them while others expressed satisfaction at finally being paid, having staying unpaid for so long.

Sinha said that the payments were made in consultation with the players and the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh. "We were feeling bad seeing the players disappointed," Sinha said. "We started to give out cheques from today. We gave them according to the list made by Naimur Rahman and Debabbrata [Paul]. It is nearly Tk 2.5 crore, which will be paid to around 70 players. They had contract with the franchises but since they failed, we made the payments. We have consulted their association before taking the decision. We paid them as much as they wanted."

The board, however, didn't pay the unpaid players of Rangpur Riders for the 2013 BPL as the franchise informed the BCB that they would be completing the due payments.

When asked if foreign players had been paid, Sinha claimed their payment had been completed. "We don't have any due payments for foreign players," he said.

Naimur, the BCB's cricket operations committee chairman, said he knew that some will remain unhappy with the amounts. "We kept the players' need for money in our consideration," Naimur said. "There are some senior cricketers who can earn money from other sources but there are also some who don't have it. So they had to make that adjustment. There was no specific rate as such. We had to discuss with each cricketer.

"There will be dissatisfaction. Some people will always remain dissatisfied, it is how they are. I did this job knowing fully that I will be blamed. I can't make everyone happy. If everyone is happy with their payment, then I am not doing my job."