DPL payment issues still not finalised

The Dhaka Premier League continues to confuse the country’s cricketers, who are uncertain just how much they will be paid by clubs. The clubs have made some minor changes to the grading list of players and salary structures that they received from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), and sent the revised list back to the BCB. According to their proposed list, A+ category cricketers will receive Tk2m each. Only four players - Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain and Tamim Iqbal – are included in this top category. 20 cricketers, almost all the current national team members and a few others around the team, were named under grade A and are proposed to receive Tk1.5m. B+ category has 24 cricketers with a salary of Tk1m each, while 12 players in grade B are set to receive Tk800,000. Forty-eight cricketers were equally divided across two grades C and D, to receive Tk500,000 and Tk250,000 respectively. However, it has been learnt that the BCB plans to announce a slightly higher payment scale, with each grade receiving Tk500,000 more than what the clubs have proposed. A club official who requested anonymity said, “We have already provided the grading list and the salary range of the cricketers to the board with some minor changes. It is now in the hands of the BCB”. The clubs are likely to go along with the board’s decision as the amounts negotiated are considerably lower than what the players had initially demanded. Meanwhile the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) is still monitoring the matter as they are waiting for the board’s official announcement regarding the payment issue. “We are keeping a close eye on the whole thing along with the cricketers, we are also waiting for the board’s decision,” said CWAB secretary Debabrata Paul. He added that the players are not happy with this new system. “As far as I know, players are not taking the new system easily. We are going to sit at a general meeting within next few days, after that we can say something about our stand,” said Debabrata.