BCB announces hike in match fees for players
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Tamim Iqbal announced on Thursday (September 3) that they have decided to increase cricketers' match fees. Earlier, Cricbuzz reported that the players were getting insecure after the BCB decided to postpone the forthcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, the country’s lone franchise-based T20 tournament.A section of cricketers did not shy away from showing their displeasure with the Cricketers Welfare Association high ups, who were handling the issue with the board on their behalf.BCB's working committee met at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday before Tamim called an impromptu press conference to announce a landmark increase in match fees across formats in domestic cricket.Under the new match-fee structure, men’s cricketers will receive Tk 1.5 lakh for every first-class match, up from Tk 70,000. Tamim himself had increased the fee to Tk 1 lakh when he took over as head of the BCB ad-hoc committee.The List A match fee has also been doubled, with players set to receive Tk 1 lakh per match, up from Tk 50,000. The domestic T20 match fee has been increased to Tk 80,000 from Tk 40,000.The match fee for a women’s four-day match has been increased from Tk 20,000 to Tk 40,000. For one-day matches, it has been raised from Tk 15,000 to Tk 30,000, while the T20 match fee has been doubled from Tk 10,000 to Tk 20,000.“So, one or two proposals had come from the players’ side. Eventually, we both side - I don’t consider it two sides at all. There is only one side, that we are all one. Cricketers, the cricket board, directors, president - all are one,” Tamim told reporters after a meeting with the BCB working committee at the board headquarters in Mirpur."So, what we have all decided together is that, overall, in the BPL, you will see 50, 60, 65, 70 local cricketers play. But if you think about Bangladesh cricket, in first-class, List A, T20, there are plus or minus 150 to 200 cricketers involved," he said."Now, their well-being, in the Dhaka League, maybe financially, what it was two or three years ago, perhaps that has dropped. Plus, because the BPL will not take place this year, there can be a financial impact,” he said.“But I never wanted a one-year solution for the players. I wanted there to be a solution, my board wanted there to be a solution that would benefit them year after year after year," he said, adding that he believes the move will help cricketers remain financially stable simply by playing in BCB tournaments, as they will earn around Tk 3 lakh per month."Everything has increased by 100% or more. And what is the benefit of doing this? That is the question. Now, if a domestic cricketer plays the full season, including his salary, if my calculation is not wrong, plus or minus, they will earn Tk 35 lakh to Tk 40 lakh annually. If you divide that by 12, a player will have an income of more than Tk 3 lakh per month,” he explained."To run their family, I don’t think they will need to worry anymore. It is a significant step,” he said, adding that now he wants professionalism from the players.Tamim added that BCB would not entertain requests when it comes to players who fail the mandatory pre-season fitness test. "We will fully fulfil the demands that came from the players’ side, but they also have to fulfil the demands from our side. There will be no sacrifice when it comes to professionalism in first-class cricket, which is something that is discussed a lot sometimes among us," he pointed out."When someone fails to pass the fitness test, there will be no requests or anything like that listened to. When the board is providing everything and giving all financial support, the professionalism from the players’ side will now also be monitored very strongly," he added.Cricibuzz understands BCB is no longer interested in continuing to bear the full financial burden of tournaments such as the National Cricket League (NCL) T20, the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) four-day and one-day competitions.
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