New deals, old issues

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Governing Council completed the signing of the two-party agreement with all seven franchisees when Barisal Burners and Sylhet Royals put pen to paper at the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) headquarters in Mirpur yesterday.
Earlier Dhaka Gladiators, Chittagong Kings, Rangpur Riders, Khulna Royal Bengals and Duronto Rajshahi signed the two-party agreement.
The organisers are trying to complete all the documentation before the start of the second edition which is set to kick off from January 17, but the money-spinning tournament is still being haunted by the nonpayment of the players from the first edition.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who was bought by the Sylhet Royals for the second edition of the tournament, told reporters yesterday that he was yet to be paid his wages in full as the icon player of Duronto Rajshahi last season.
“I was supposed to get 210,000 dollars but received only 110,000 dollars. Would you please ask him (Mushfiqur Rahman Mohan) on my behalf how he can claim to have cleared my dues?” said Mushfiqur when his attention was drawn to Duronto Rajshahi owner Mushfiqur Rahman Mohan's claim that they not only cleared the dues but also gave more than that.
Former BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain however said that the Duronto Rajshahi owner's claim was right if they paid $ 110,000 to Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur.
“Initially it was decided that an icon player will get five percent more than the highest paid player in the team but later we changed it on request of the franchises and it was decided that an icon player will receive 110,000 dollars. This decision was taken under the prevailing circumstances at the time,” said Gazi Ashraf.
“We also conveyed this decision to our icon players. I personally talked with Mushfiqur Rahim regarding the revised amount,” he added.
Mushfiqur however demanded the amount based on Nasir Hossain's amount, who was the highest paid player in the team.
There has however been a number of other local players who are still waiting for their dues and they are looking forward to December 31, the latest in a long line of payment deadlines.
Gazi Ashraf however said that the time has come for BCB to set a strong code of conduct for the players.
“I think the time has come for BCB to set a strong code of conduct for the players so we can avoid this kind of talking,” said Gazi Ashraf, the member of the board's ad-hoc committee.