CWAB lifts boycott threat
Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh backtracked from their earlier decision of boycotting Dhaka Premier League after they held a successful discussion
with the officials of Bangladesh Cricket Board on Wednesday.
The withdrawal came amid a new twist of the event as the BCB president Nazmul Hasan told reporters that the Board is unable to start any activities of the league until it receives the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit report.
The ACSU is unlikely to give its report on the recent match-fixing investigation before the ICC annual general meeting in London from June 26-29, making the June 23 player transfers programme uncertain.
‘I am waiting for the ACSU report, and unless I get that, it will be difficult for me to get into the player transfers in the Premier League. I have to look at all the sides of the matter,’ Nazmul told reporters.
‘What happens if there are more names in the ACSU? The day I heard that someone like Ashraful is involved and has made a confession, I could not give priority to anything but the ACSU report,’ he said.
The BCB president blasted CWAB for making players greedy instead of trying to help overcome the recent match-fixing scandal.
‘If our players only think of money then I must say we have problem,’ said the BCB president. ‘The day when we had a press conference about the ACSU report and saw Ashraful apologise I saw an organisation called CWAB demanding more money for the players.
‘It really hurts. If there is any organisation that wants the good of players they would have better advised them to stay away from such bad practice.’
CWAB was already under fire from many corners for making a boycott call without even waiting for the BCB to announce the new pay structure for the premier league players.
While the clubs said they will not pay any player more than Tk 20 to 22 lakh, CWAB said it should be at least Tk 30-35 lakh. The BCB president said whoever suggests what the BCB will take the final decision.
‘I don’t think there is too little money on offer for the players. The problem is with their expectation but it is not justified,’ he said.
‘In the past, there were only the Premier League and the international tournaments. Now they earn a lot through various tournaments and salaries,’ he said.
CWAB took note of his comments and later at a meeting with Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis chairman Jalal Yunus in the evening its representative Tushar Imran agreed to withdraw the boycott call.
The CCDM chairman, however, had to assure the CWAB representative that the planned gradation system will be for just this year and the league and player transfers will return to its traditional system next season.
-With New Age input
