Dhaka Premier League clubs have demanded an unprecedented amount from the Bangladesh Cricket Board as aid to run their teams, thereby jeopardising the chance of the league being held on time. Although the Dhaka Premier League clubs have already received their participation fee of Tk 700,000 each, they asked for an additional Tk4m each, making the situation even more critical for BCB. Even as the BCB struggles to solve the problems related to the competition, as well as the timely start of the league, the new demand from the club came as a bold from the blue. “Yes, there are many issues to be resolved, which we are working on. We are going to make a proposal to the clubs in the next five to six days, hopefully we can overcome the complicacies,” said Jalal Yunus Chowdhury, the chairman of the BCB media committee and Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis. The clubs, however, have good reason to ask for such an amount, since many of them have yet to receive prize money from last season and face financial ruin. The top six clubs of last year’s Dhaka Premier league have yet to receive their prize money of Tk3.5m each, and the bottom six 2.5m apiece from BCB. “We have not yet received last year’s position money from the board, which is a large part of what we are supposed to spend this season,” said a club official who wished to remain unnamed. Another reason the club officials claimed to be contributing to their financial crisis is the current political situation of the country that is not business friendly. “We are facing tremendous pressure and we are going through financial crisis as you all know about the political situation of the country at the moment which is also a big reason for us to ask for the aid,” said Brothers Union manager Amin Khan. Meanwhile the National Championship cricket tournament emerged as another headache for BCB as the participants of the competition District and Divisional sports forum asked BCB to postpone the tournament citing different problems. “We are not against cricket. We want the league to be held on time but at this moment it will be tough for us to participate because of the wet season unsuitable for cricket. Besides, the political situation is not good and the H.S.C exams are also going on,” said the joint secretary of the forum Abdullah Al Fuad Redwan. However, the BCB is determined to continue the tournament and sent letters to all the district to know if they are going to take part in the tournament or not.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
