Cricketers frustrated as Dhaka Premier League teams slash salaries

Salaries have been drastically reduced for cricketers in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, causing widespread frustration.

After political changes, there were uncertainties surrounding the 11th edition of the BPL. The BCB president changed, and 15 director positions were left vacant. Running the board's regular operations became difficult, let alone organising the BPL.

In this situation, several senior cricketers of the national team held a meeting with the BCB president, requesting that the tournament be held, even with reduced salaries. Despite the salary issues, the tournament went ahead. Now, a similar issue seems to be emerging in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League as well.

This prestigious domestic one-day competition will start in the first week of March. Ahead of the tournament, cricketers are already unhappy about the salary cuts. All the teams have reduced salaries, with some cutting over half. Players who received 30-40 lakh taka last season are now getting under 10 lakh. Cricketers who earned 70-80 lakh are now getting half of that. Many clubs are also failing to honour their previous commitments. Even though the salary was agreed upon beforehand, some clubs did not keep their promises during the transfer period. As a result, many cricketers have joined new clubs at the last moment. After the two-day transfer window, many cricketers have expressed their frustration over the salary issues.

After signing with Mohammedan Sporting Club on Sunday, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam said, "At the end of the day, cricketers play for money. It's a sad situation when the money decreases in every tournament. Not only national cricketers, but there are also many cricketers who support their families by playing domestic cricket. For them, it becomes very difficult. I believe, InshaAllah, this situation will improve soon. I wouldn't say that national cricketers are unaffected, but they're probably not as severely impacted as those who only play domestic cricket. But it still affects everyone."

Mohammad Mithun, who is playing for Abahani, also voiced his disappointment. He said, "Honestly, I don't see any improvement in domestic cricket. Whether it's the BPL or the DPL, it's continuously declining. In every other place, things are improving, but here, things are getting worse. No matter how you explain the country's context or try to make excuses, at the end of the day, when you're doing a job, you expect to get the appropriate salary."

"Our profession is cricket, and we expect to improve from where we left off last year. But now, every cricketer's salary has decreased, and it has decreased significantly. This is not something we expect as professional cricketers. I won't say exactly how much it has decreased personally, but overall, compared to last year, cricketers are getting about 30% less this time," added the former Chittagong Kings captain, who finished as BPL runners-up.

Mohammedan's manager, Sajjad Hossain Shipon, pointed out that the salary issue is tied to the lack of an elected government and will persist. He said, "At the end of the day, all the teams are facing salary issues, and this will continue. The government's position is a bit uncertain now, as no new government has come in. So, there will definitely be salary problems. We are trying to adjust as best as we can in this situation. We haven't yet had detailed discussions about the cricketers' salaries. The club will provide some instructions, and we will act accordingly. For now, we can't give a clear answer about the salary."

In addition to the reduced salaries, cricketers are more frustrated by clubs not honouring their promises. One player had a verbal agreement with a club, where the club promised to pay him 18 lakh taka. However, two weeks later, the same club offered him to play for 10 lakh. Just days before the transfer window closed, the club reduced the offer further to 6 lakh. Due to these broken promises, the player did not sign with the club and chose another one during the transfer. Almost all the clubs are failing to keep their promises to the cricketers.