Bangladesh’s tour of India in doubt as players threaten strike

Bangladesh’s T20I and Test tour of India has come under serious doubt as the cricketers have threatened to go on strike. The players of the senior national team called for a press conference and dropped the bombshell announcement that they would not participate in any cricketing activities unless their list of demands was met by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Bangladesh’s tour of India is set to begin on November 3.

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Some of the biggies of Bangladesh cricket like Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah and Tamim Iqbal were all present at the press conference in Dhaka. They also had a big group of first-class cricketers standing by in support as simmering tensions between the players and the board finally boiled over. They presented a 11-point demand, which if not met, would see cricket in the country come to a halt for a long time.

Shakib leads the charge

Leading the charge, an emotional Shakib said during the press conference:

“We did not include the Under- 19 team here as they are preparing for the World Cup. Everybody else is here and we know everybody is with us. We are not going to involve in cricket unless our demand is fulfilled we are not coming back to cricket. Beside age level cricketers, 19,17,15 everybody in the national team and domestic cricket is involved here and it starts from today. This is applicable from domestic cricket and first-class cricket to international cricket.”

BCB CEO Nizamudin Chowdhury quickly tried to douse the fire. He later claimed a quick resolution to the major issue was the need of the hour:

“We just came to know about it. We will discuss it in the board and try to resolve it as soon as possible. I don’t think it is anything like revolt. They are yet to tell us anything formally, but we are looking into the matter.”

List of demands

• Removal of salary cap from the Dhaka Premier League
• Continuation of the franchise-based model in the Bangladesh Premier League
• A hike of 300% in salaries of first-class cricketers
• Increase in the number of centrally contracted players and an increase in their remuneration
• Increase in salaries of groundsmen, local coaches, umpires, physios and trainers
• Improvement of infrastructure facilities for players throughout the country
• Increase in the number of domestic one-day and T20 tournaments
• Introduction of a proper calendar for domestic tournaments
• Clearance of pending payments from Dhaka Premier League on the stipulated time
• Players must be allowed more than 2 NOC’s to participate in overseas T20 leagues when not involved in domestic or international duties
• President and Secretary of Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh must resign with immediate effect. The players will collectively vote and decide who helms the new committee