Dhaka: Bangladesh’s upcoming tour of India was on Monday thrown into jeopardy after their national team players refused to participate in any cricketing activity until their demands, including a hike in salary, are met.
The boycott plan was announced by the country’s top players such as Test and T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim at a press conference here. Nearly 50 players are part of the protest.
A boycott of any cricket activity for the foreseeable future will have an immediate impact on the National Cricket League, currently in progress. The action could also jeopardise the training camp for next month’s tour of India and possibly the tour itself. During the tour starting November 3, Bangladesh are scheduled to play three T20 Internationals and two Test matches as part of the World Championship. “We have to respect the local coaches, physios, trainers and groundsman. They get really a little amount of salary at the end of the month,” senior opener Tamim Iqbal said on behalf of the players at the press conference. The camp was supposed to start this week with the team’s spin consultant Daniel Vettori in attendance. India responded with a guarded statement, calling Bangladesh’s internal matter. However, many in the Indian Cricket Board feel that President-elect Sourav Ganguly’s cordial relations with both players and officials in Bangladesh cricket might help in salvaging the situation. One of the major points raised by the players was better remuneration for those competing at the first-class level. “Match fee for the first-class cricket should be increased to one lakh (Bangladesh Taka), which is now 35 thousand only. At the same time, the salary of first-class cricketers also should be increased by 50 per cent,” said their most decorated player Shakib. (PTI)
