BPL 2025: Durbar Rajshahi local players skip training to protest non-payment of dues

Durbar Rajshahi canceled their training session in Chattogram on Monday after their Bangladeshi players protested that they were not paid BPL franchise Several of the players, seeking anonymity, confirmed that they took the stand after Rajshahi owner Shafique Rahman changed the payment date several times.

The players informed team management of their reluctance to go to practice on Monday morning, after which the franchise told the media that “the team has decided to opt for a rest day today.” Soon after, news spread that the local Rajshahi players forced the management to take this decision after going unpaid for the last two weeks. The foreign players and coaching staff, however, have been paid 25 percent of their total fees after the team’s fourth match of the season, against Fortune Barishal on January 6.

After learning the facts on Monday, the president of the BCB Farooq Ahmed He spoke to board directors before holding discussions with Rajshahi owner Shafique Rahman, captain Anamul Haqueand several other players. The blockade, however, remained at the time the board director Manjur Alam briefed the media in Chattogram on Monday evening.

“I am speaking on behalf of the BCB president,” Manjur said. “The chairman of the board called an emergency meeting of the board on Zoom. I was physically present, the other managers were online. Negotiations are underway. Hopefully we can find a solution tomorrow. The chairman spoke directly with the team owners, the captain and the players. We have a positive atmosphere from all sides. They will attend training tomorrow, which is the most positive part of the negotiation.”

The BPL governing council has set the payment schedule for franchises to pay all players 50% of their total dues before the start of the tournament, 25% during the tournament and the remaining 25% after of the tournament

The BPL governing council had also directed the teams to provide the BCB with a bank guarantee of BDT 8 million (approx. USD 657,000), but the franchises requested that this sum be reduced to BDT 3 million (approx. USD 246,000 ). Even so, Fortune Barishal is the only team to have paid BCB the bank guarantee.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the checks of some of the local Rajshahi players bounced on January 9. This led to the players threatening to walk out of their January 10 match against Khulna Tigers. Team owner Shafique Rahman told the players that they would be paid on January 14, but that too never came.

The latest communication breakdown saw the players walk out of Monday’s training session in Chattogram. Some of them have said that they will not play the next Rajshahi match. against Sylhet Strikers on January 17, unless all local players receive 50% of their payouts.

ESPNcricinfo has also discovered that Rajshahi has been irregular with his daily payments. The players have had to bear their own expenses from January 5 to 11, when ESPNcricinfo was last contacted.

Anamul had mentioned the payment issue as early as December 30. In the post-match press conference after Rajshahi’s tournament opener against Barishal, Anamul had said that the players were yet to pay their first fee.

“We haven’t been paid, none of us,” he said. “The BPL has just started, so we don’t want to create a negative image of the tournament. Everyone around the world is watching the BPL.”

The players have been reluctant to talk about the issue of payment after this, but the mood inside the Rajshahi camp is one of unease.

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