The Bangladesh Cricket Board will not take any responsibility over the payment of players in the Dhaka Premier League, an official said on Thursday, raising fears of further chaos in local cricket.
The BCB had been expected to provide the players with some assurances over payment, if not any formal guarantees, as it did during the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
However, Jalal Yunus, a member of the BCB’s ad hoc committee, said that payment is entirely an issue between players and their respective clubs, and that the BCB is unlikely to play any part in the matter.
‘We never gave any guarantee of payment, and there is no reason for us to give it. It is entirely up to the player and the club about to settle the payment issue,’ said Jalal, who is also the chairman of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis.
Jalal’s comments have caused added anxiety as some players, including the mercurial Sakib al Hasan, have already raised concerns about the payment process, especially after the ordeal they faced in the BPL.
Jalal said that clubs have a better track record with players’ payments than the BPL franchisees and that there should not be any serious concern.
‘My understanding is that clubs always pay well. There are hardly ever any serious disputes. If there are any, I think clubs and players amicably settle them,’ Jalal told reporters at his BCB office.
At a programme at the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club on Thursday afternoon, national captain Mushfiqur Rahim also echoed some of the CCDM chairman’s words, saying he received his payment in full from the club last season.
Interestingly, Jamal’s cricket committee chairman is Mushfiqur Rahman Mohan, who is also one of the owners of BPL franchise Duronto Rajshahi.
Naturally, it has been asked how he can pay DPL players when many of his Rajshahi players are still unpaid. Mohan suggested that the two competitions should be viewed separately because there are some other issues involved.
At the same programme, Sheikh Jamal president Manzur Kader said that the club is always transparent about payment and the players should not worry about it.
‘We will sign the agreements and pay the players accordingly,’ he said.
A BCB official, who asked not to be identified, said that some senior players have already requested that the BCB scrap the provision of agreements altogether as they will obviously raise the question of taxes.
Unlike previous seasons, this year’s players’ transfer was open, meaning that every player’s league earnings are public knowledge. The earnings of most players are taxable, which led to fears that many would experience drastically reduced incomes.
The BCB deducted taxes at source in the BPL, and players said that if the clubs take a similar path they will lose money. The BCB said that they have little to do with it as the matter depends entirely on clubs.
‘We are not even forcing the players and clubs to sign agreements. We have a model agreement paper, which we gave the clubs, but it is up to them to follow it or not,’ said CCDM chairman Jalal.
The DPL is scheduled to begin in September, with matches set to be held in Dhaka, Fatullah, Bogra and Rajshahi.
-With New Age input
