The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is preparing to take legal steps against BPL side Durbar Rajshahi after they missed payment deadlines with overseas players and the team hotel. BCB media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said on Sunday that the board had given the franchise enough time and consideration and could no longer afford to keep doing so. The situation came to a head this weekend when the unpaid Rajshahi players made themselves unavailable for the match against Rangpur Riders in Mirpur.
BPL rules stipulate a team to field a minimum of two and a maximum of four overseas players in a playing XI. When it became clear that the Rajshahi foreigners wouldn't be playing on Sunday evening, the BPL governing council allowed the side to break the rule. It is the first time in the competition's history that a team has gone out without a single overseas player in the XI. It is being considered the BPL's lowest point this season, which has irked the BCB.
"We have to take legal action by any means now," Iftekhar told The Daily Star. "The money has to be paid. Otherwise, BPL's reputation will be ruined. The violation of contractual obligations like cheque dishonour and other issues will be addressed and we will file cases for all matters, as per the merit of the breaches. The board has given them enough chances. But they have crossed all limits. They were given a contract. There are breach of contract clauses. Until today, we didn't take any action but now, we will take all the legal actions against them."
Rajshahi captain Taskin Ahmed led the side to a surprising two-run win against table-toppers Rangpur. There was a smile on his face during the post-match press conference. A long and difficult day had come to a nice little end.
"It was certainly a new experience," Taskin said. "I heard that there was a problem with our hotel booking. There was probably a mix-up between the Sheraton and the Westin. We changed hotels [on Sunday morning] and then two hours before heading to the stadium, we heard that the foreign players won't go [to the match]. We got a call from the board, telling us that at least you [local] guys play. They called the foreign players, telling them that the payment will be cleared. Still [they] didn't come.
"When I asked [the overseas players], they said they won't play without money. I just said it's their call. What can I say, I am also a player. We really felt bad playing without the foreign players. We requested the board to play with local players. They allowed it, and then winning the game gave us some respite."
Taskin confirmed that Rajshahi paid the local players some money on Sunday. "We were given the cheque today. We will place it today. One can hope [it goes through]. If the cheque bounces like this wicket, we are in trouble.
"Everyone expects to play the BPL in a peaceful environment, so when these things happen, we get disappointed. BPL is quite popular this season, but our team is having problems. I tried to boost up the team by telling them that this is our stage to perform, regardless of what's happening elsewhere. The feeling is certainly not nice, but we are trying our best."