Bangladesh: World Cup players off from domestic chores (23 November 1998)

23 November 1998

Bangladesh: World Cup players off from domestic chores

Our Sports Reporter

The soaring price hike of the players ahead of the inter-club cricketers' transfer was snapped yesterday in the wake of a sensational decision of the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Saber Hossain Chowdhury revealed to the national news agency.

The mood at the Bangabandhu National Stadium saw a sea of change following the BCB supremo's announcement that the thirty to thirty-five players picked for the national team for the England World Cup would not be allowed to play in domestic cricket without the permission of the board. This in effect means a total embargo on their playing in any local tournament till the World Cup in May next year. For their obvious monetary loss for not playing for any Premier Division cricket club, the players would be compensated by the Board.

Saber Hossain made the decision public after a meting with his general secretary Syed Ashraful Huq, chairman of the selection committee Enayet Hossain Siraj and director of coaching Gordon Greenidge.

Talking to BSS, Saber said, "This is for the first time Bangladesh has taken a decision to pay remuneration to the cricketers for keeping out of the domestic tournaments in the greater national interest". The BCB president also sought co-operation from all quarters to make this unique decision a success.

The BCB president also disclosed that the Board will announce the list of World Cup probables before the much-anticipated inter-club cricketers' transfer, which is scheduled to start from November 25.

Meanwhile, Tanvir Haider, the chairman of the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolitan (CCDM), said that he was informed of the decision by the president over telephone.

"The president (Saber Hossain) has talked to me over telephone and advised to me to shift the transfer for a couple of days," said Tanvir last night.

But the announcement at the eleventh hour, with most of the leading clubs having already made some advance payments to some of the players, has caused an uproar among club officials. Among the affected lot Kalabagan's influential official Dewan Shafiul Arefin, who is also a joint-secretary of the BCB, looked very annoyed due to the impromptu move.

Tanvir said it for all. "The decision will force all the clubs to change their plans. Because, they will now have to recast the team excluding the players who are in the national pool".

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)