The non-payment situation at Durbar Rajshahi continues to get graver after several foreign players have been left stranded in their team hotel in Dhaka after their elimination from the 2025 Bangladesh Premier League.
What is happening in the Bangladesh Premier League?
The Rajshahi franchise has been in the news for not paying its players what they are owed. The players had to cover their own expenses for over a week in January as the franchise was late with daily allowance payments. Despite Rajshahi then promising to pay, they continued to miss deadlines.
This forced the Bangladesh Cricket Board to take legal action against the team and led to local cricketers boycotting a practice session in Chattogram. Overseas players refused to play the BPL game against Rangpur Riders in protest, which was against the tournament's rules.
After the team was eliminated from the competition, it was reported that the overseas players were still in Dhaka waiting for flights home, more than 24 hours after losing their game against Khulna Tigers.
Mohammad Haris, Aftab Alam, Mark Deyal, Ryan Burl, and Miguel Cummins were among the players still in Dhaka waiting for return tickets. They had also not received daily allowances for the previous 11 days.
BPL players are typically paid 25% of their fees before the tournament starts, with the rest paid during and after the tournament. By February 7, players should have received 75% of their pay, with the remainder paid by March 8.
According to a Cricbuzzreport, not only the players haven't been paid, but bus drivers have also protested. The bus driver who transported the players during the competition locked the players' kit bags and belongings inside the bus and said they wouldn't be returned until the outstanding payments were made.
“It's a matter of regret and shame. If they had paid us, we would have given back the kit bag to the players. Till now, I have not opened my mouth but now I am saying that we can leave if they clear our payment,” said Mohammad Babul, Rajshahi's bus driver.
“The kit bags of local and foreign cricketers are there in the bus but I cannot give them as a large portion of our remuneration is yet not paid.”
Rajshahi's Facebook page has been removed, and owner Shafiq Rahman has been taken into police custody for questioning. He had previously told the media that flight tickets for the overseas players had been arranged.
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