Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Zimpapers Sports Hub
BANGLADESH’S Sports Ministry is said to have, on Monday, announced that Shafiqur Rahman, the owner of Durbar Rajshahi made an undertaking to clear the team’s dues to players by February 10.
Zimbabwe international all-rounder, Ryan Burl is one of the players that have been affected by Rahman’s failure to pay Durbar Rajshahi players’ dues. He had earlier assured that Burl and some of his teammates would receive their dues by Sunday but failed to meet that date.
Burl left Bangladesh on Monday after finally getting his air ticket.
The Bangladesh government is also reported to have set up a fact finding committee to look into the issue.
“He (Rahman) accepted his fault and promised to clear all dues of the team in three instalments of 25 percent each on February 3, 7 and 10. He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment,” read a statement from the Bangladesh government.
Rajshahi were eliminated from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Saturday when Khulna Tigers beat Dhaka Capitals on the last day of the league stage.
As the franchise continued to miss payment deadlines, the team’s overseas players were left stranded in the team hotel in Dhaka on Sunday. Burl, Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal and Miguel Cummins both from West Indies were all waiting for some portion of their payments to come in.
At that time, a couple of them had been paid 25 percent while some hadn’t been paid at all. To make things worse for the players, the Rajshahi team bus driver allegedly said in interviews that he was holding cricketers’ kit bags as ransom as he too hadn’t been paid.
On Sunday, after their elimination, the players hadn’t received daily allowance for the last 11 days.
On Saturday, Asif Mahmud, the government advisor on matters of sports and youth affairs, is reported to have said that he had spoken to Rahman, warning him of the consequences if the dues were not cleared.
The Bangladesh government has also formed a fact finding committee to look into the non-payment of players.
“I spoke to the Rajshahi owner, who assured us that he will clear the payments. I have told him clearly that if he fails to do so, we will take legal steps. No more discussions. Our fact-finding committee will be looking into how this team came to be,” said Mahmud.
Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL season.
Anamul Haque had first claimed that the local players hadn’t received any payments prior to the start of the tournament – they are usually paid 25 percent before the tournament starts.
They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish but they fell short on net run-rate.
Online Reporter