BPL yet to pay 54 players

Fifty-four players, including six foreigners, who played the first season of the Bangladesh Premier League are still without full payments from the six franchises, more than seven months after the tournament concluded. Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB), the players' representative body in the country, has put together the updated list of unpaid BPL cricketers and this is the first time any such list has been published.

The unpaid foreign players are Kieron Pollard, Azhar Mahmood, Alexei Kervezee and Darren Stevens (Dhaka Gladiators), Niall O'Brien and Herschelle Gibbs (Khulna Royal Bengals) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Chittagong Kings). Gibbs told ESPNcricinfo: "I have not been paid the full amount." But the South Africa batsman didn't disclose what percentage of payment he was still owed by the Khulna franchise. A source close to Muttiah Muralitharan has confirmed that he hasn't received 75% of his full payment, which amounts to $75,000.

On the list there are 48 Bangladesh cricketers who haven't been paid fully, of which five were icon players. Tamim Iqbal, the Chittagong Kings' icon player for the inaugural season, had said earlier this week that he hadn't received any payments.

CWAB general secretary Debabrata Paul said that their updated list was the result of a second survey completed a week ago, and a number of players have been completely remunerated between their first survey (conducted three months after the BPL ended) and the latest one.

"BPL had outlined their players' payment system, which stated that the final payment would be made a maximum of 20 days after the completion of the tournament," Paul said. "But when we conducted our first survey, we asked every local player, except one. We carried out the last survey a week ago and found out that there were players who got paid fully. But still, 48 local players remain unpaid. We have sent letters to the BCB but still this situation persists.

"I would also ask the players to be aware of their rights. If they open up about how much they are owed, it becomes easier for CWAB to fight on their behalf."

Chittagong Kings have the least number of unpaid players (seven); Dhaka Gladiators have the most with eleven. Duronto Rajshahi and Khulna Royal Bengals have ten each on the list, Sylhet Royals and Barisal Burners have eight apiece. The franchises from Sylhet, Rajshahi and Barisal have completed payments to all their foreign players but have been lax with the locals. Most players have said that they have regularly tried to contact team owners regarding the outstanding payments of late, but received vague responses.

Last week BPL chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain had said that franchises that do not clear all their dues to players by October 20 will be re-auctioned on November 9.