Durbar Rajshahi, a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise, has assured that 50% of players’ payments will be settled by today.
“We committed to making the payment on January 16,” said Jayed Ahmed, Rajshahi’s operations in-charge, in a video message on Wednesday.
“To be honest, the payment delay was unfortunate, and we sincerely apologize. Since today is Thursday and the next two days are holidays, the management has decided to provide 25% in cash today and issue cheques for the remaining 25%. In total, we will clear 50% of the players’ payments by the end of the day,” he explained.
The cheques, however, will be dated January 19, the next working day.
Earlier reports revealed that players boycotted Wednesday’s practice session over payment delays, with some players yet to receive their daily allowances. However, on Thursday, the cricketers resumed practice at the M.A. Aziz Stadium in Chattogram ahead of their match against Sylhet Strikers. During practice, Rajshahi’s manager, Mehrab Hossain Opi, also confirmed the promise of 50% payment clearance by the franchise.
Jayed denied reports of a boycott and clarified the reasons for the delay.
“Our team owner’s wife sustained an injury during a Dhaka-phase match when a ball struck her. She was taken to Bangkok for treatment, which disrupted cheque processing. The owner advised us to hold cheque deposits until his return to avoid issues with bank communications. Unfortunately, one or two players mistakenly deposited their cheques,” Jayed said.
He added that the players’ absence from practice on Wednesday was due to rest, not a protest. “Some players stayed back in Dhaka for rest and didn’t check in at the hotel simultaneously. The management allowed them to rest.”
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Jayed also shared that the franchise has updated Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed about the situation.
“Our owner and I spoke to the BCB president to explain the delay. We apologized and reaffirmed our commitment to making payments today. After our first win, we even issued bonuses to 14 local players during the Sylhet phase to motivate them,” he said.
Acknowledging their shortcomings as a new franchise, Jayed expressed hope for better performance and management moving forward.
“We’re learning and trying to fix our mistakes quickly. We’ve won several matches and aim to qualify for the playoffs. We seek everyone’s support and hope to achieve our goals,” he concluded.