Rajshahi promise payment after breakthrough talks with BCB with assurance that the payment will be completed in a couple days.
Rajshahi have promised to pay their local players on Thursday, a day after the players boycotted training in Chattogram
In a late-night video message on Wednesday, Rajshahi’s operations in-charge, Jayed Ahmed, stated that they had spoken with BCB president Faruque Ahmed and gave him the assurance that the outstanding balance will be paid.
Teams in the Bangladesh Premier League are expected to pay 50% of a player’s entire salary prior to the tournament, 25% during it, and the remaining 25% after it concludes. However, almost two weeks into the event, which started on December 30, Rajshahi had yet to pay the local players their first installment.
BCB CEO Faruque met with his board of directors following the players’ protest. He also had conversations with skipper Anamul Haque, Shafique Rahman, and other cricket players at Rajshahi.
“There’s no doubt that they will receive payment on January 16,” Jayed said. “We express regret at not being able to make the payments on time. There’s no denying the fact. This shouldn’t have happened. The management has decided to pay 25% payment in cash. We will pay another 25% in checks.
“Our owner spoke to the BCB president on the phone. I met him in person. We had a cordial conversation. He wanted to understand the situation. We expressed our regret for the payment delay. We promised him that we will make the payments tomorrow.”
Jayed said some of the cheques bounced because the bank couldn’t clear the payment without confirming with Shafique on the phone.
“You will remember that the day our owner’s wife went to the ground, she got hit by a ball, she suffered a fracture. She was taken to Bangkok for treatment. Our owner was with her. We had given the cheque beforehand, so our owner told me to inform the players that the cheques won’t be submitted since he was not in the country.
“Otherwise the bank won’t get me on the phone. We told this to all the cricketers but one or two of them submitted the check. They forgot about the owner being in Bangkok.”
Rajshahi had made the 25% payment to their overseas players and coaching staff. The side will take on Khulna Tigers in their seventh game in Chattogram on January 17.