As of Monday, Rahman is taken into police custody for interrogation. He has promised to clear the payments in three phases dated February 3, 7, and 10.
Several of Durbar Rajshahi’s overseas players are stranded in their hotel in Dhaka as the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise owner is yet to clear the payment dues. Further, the team owner, Shafiq Rahman and the management didn’t respond to the player’s calls when they enquired about their flight tickets back home.
As of Monday, Rahman is taken into police custody for interrogation. He has promised to clear the payments in three phases dated February 3, 7, and 10.
According to Cricbuzz, an official from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said, “I am in regular contact with Rajshahi’s owner and he is just saying that he is trying to get it done. Just yesterday, Bangladesh’s sports adviser (Asif Mahmud) had met him and asked to clear the dues as soon as possible and he had agreed.”
Though Rajshahi were in contention for the playoffs of BPL 2025, they had a forgettable outing with just six wins. They were eliminated on Saturday after Khulna Tigers beat Dhaka Capitals on the last day of the league stage.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Harris, Zimbabwe’s Ryan Burl, Afghanistan’s Aftab Alum, West Indies’ Mark Deyal, and Miguel Cummins are still stranded in their hotel rooms. Some of them received about 25% of their payment while the rest are yet to receive any payment at all. Their daily allowance has also hit the pause button for the past 11 days.
According to Cricbuzz, The BCB official added, “By February 7, players should have received 75% of their payment while the rest should be cleared by March 8. Unfortunately, that is not the case with Rajshahi which is hugely embarrassing.”
The franchise’s players have suffered payment woes since the start of the season. Anamul Haque was the first among many to speak about the team dodging the payments. Some local players opted out of the training session. Some local players have already left the hotel without receiving any payment dues.
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As stated in a Cricbuzz report, Asif Mahmud, the Government Advisor of Sports and Youth Affairs stated that he had warned Rahman about legal action.
“He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each installment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”
The State government formed a fact-finding committee to look into the non-payment matters.
The Rajshahi management missed out on the bus driver’s payments as well. To make matters worse for the team, the bus driver, Mohammad Babul, took matters into his own hands. He locked the kit bags and other belongings of the players inside the bus. He refuses to unlock it until his debts are paid.
Babul expressed his annoyance to the reporters in front of the team hotel, “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.”
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