News

Victoria SC caught up in payment mess

Victoria Sporting Club president Nisar Uddin Ahmed Kazal has said that he will resolve the ongoing payment dispute by Tuesday evening

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
14-Jun-2016
Players were supposed to have received 60% of their payments by the end of the first phase of the DPL  •   The Daily Star/Firoz Ahmed

Players were supposed to have received 60% of their payments by the end of the first phase of the DPL  •   The Daily Star/Firoz Ahmed

Nisar Uddin Ahmed Kazal, the president of Victoria Sporting Club, has stopped his players from meeting BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury to discuss the non-payment of their dues for the Dhaka Premier League. The players were supposed to have been paid 60% of their fees by this stage of the league, but most have only received between 15% and 30%, ESPNcricinfo understands.
The players wanted to meet Chowdhury to ask if the BCB would step in and pay them in case their club failed to. Having prevented the meeting, Nisar said the payments would be made by Wednesday, after the team's match against Legends of Rupganj.
"I have told the players that the payment will be made tonight and tomorrow," Nisar told ESPNcricinfo. "We will make sure they are given their due amount. Sometimes, players have a lot of demand. If, for some reason, the club fails to make payment, the BCB is supposed to clear that payment."
At the start of the season, the BCB had said 30% of players' payments would be made before the league started, a further 30% by the end of the first phase, and the last 40% within six weeks after the end of the Super League phase.
The payment schedule was made after the player draft. The BCB also said it would take bank guarantees from the clubs to ensure payment for all players.
"This payment is our livelihood," a Victoria player said. "Eid is coming up, but we don't know if we are going to get paid. I have been paid less than 25% after the fifth game of the first phase. Our official told us that if they can't pay us, the BCB will definitely pay us. So, we wanted to ask the BCB high-ups when that payment may come. But then our official has now guaranteed that we will get our due amount up to this point."

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84