The 12 Dhaka Premier League clubs in another meeting with the Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday proposed a salary cap for the new grading system. Tk 2m, 1.5m, 1m and 500,000-700,000 were the maximum payment proposed for the four grades of players in the upcoming league.
As expected, the players objected the proposed payment scheme which they claim is only helpful for the clubs. Most cricketers also alleged that the Board has introduced this system to avail the valuable club votes in the BCB’s board of directors’ election due in June. Meanwhile, 24 elite cricketers of the country have signed a draft letter mentioning their concerns over the BPL payment issue and the proposed grading system of DPL. However, they are yet to submit the letter to the Board president. A senior member of the Bangladesh team who preferred to be anonymous, said, “What I heard so far about the new payment structure of DPL is not satisfying at all for us. If that is the amount (2m) of the new payment structure, I don’t think the national cricketers are going to participate in this year’s DPL.” Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), on the other hand, did not take the national cricketers secret meeting lightly as the only players’ welfare body of the country was not aware of the meeting. Debabrata Paul, the secretary of the association, said, “We were totally unaware about their meeting and we felt that the elite cricketers should have consulted with us before doing any such thing. We are also worried about the players benefit.” Debabrata also mentioned that other cricketers associated with CWAB are also keeping a close eye over the new grading system and once they are sure of the exact amount of their grade they are all going to sit and decide their next step. If the payment structure does not satisfy the cricketers, there is a possibility the players will boycott the league. BCB recently announced the players transfer date on June 20 while the league will start from July 1, but with the ongoing stalemate between the players and the Board, the league is far from certain.