Victoria players meet BCB CEO to resolve payment issue

Victoria Sporting Club's players met the BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury on Thursday, to inform the board that they were yet to be paid their dues for playing in the Dhaka Premier League.

By this time, the players should have been paid at least 60% of their dues. Following the pre-season player draft, the BCB had instructed the clubs to pay 30 per cent before the start of the league, 30 per cent at the end of the league's first phase, and the remaining 40 per cent six weeks after the end of the Super League. On Sunday, the BCB president Nazmul Hassan had given the clubs who hadn't paid their players 72 hours to pay the dues or face action, and said the BCB would pay the players in the interim.

With the deadline having passed on Wednesday, the Victoria players said they remained unpaid.

"Only one of our players got 40 per cent payment," Nadif Chowdhury, the Victoria captain, said. "The rest got between ten to thirty per cent. Many of us can't go back to our hometowns for Eid without this payment. The players are disappointed. We are all professional cricketers who are being harassed for getting our dues. The CEO has said the board will look into the matter. We remain hopeful."

The Victoria players had intended to meet the BCB CEO nine days ago, but their club president Nisar Uddin Ahmed Kazal stopped them, and said he would pay their dues by June 15. But that did not happen.

Nadif said part of the problem this season was the player draft. Previously, under the players' transfer system, payment and signature went hand-in-hand between player and club. Under the draft system, the clubs can be less punctual with payments in the knowledge that the players are tied to playing for them, and cannot negotiate with other clubs.

"The conventional players' transfer system was much better," Nadif said. "Under that system, we got a large chunk of the agreed amount before the league started. Sometimes we got around 80-90 per cent. Now we are hardly even getting half of that amount. We are sad that nobody is following the instruction given by the board."

Chowdhury said the BCB would talk to all the clubs about their payment situation before taking any decision. "The board's ultimatum to the clubs has just ended," he said. "The Victoria players met me. Some other players also sent their complaints. We are also contacting a number of clubs. We will take measure after receiving all relevant information."