Pay gap a discredit for us: Mushfiqur

One of the most important issues surrounding the players’ 13-point demand in the strike back in October this year was the discrimination in wages between foreign and local players in the Bangladesh Premier League.

Less than two months later, on the opening day of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL), Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim retrained the spotlight on the issue and said that the difference between the pay packages of local and foreign players was highly disappointing.

“If you see our players, Tamim or Shakib, we perform consistently the whole year but some players who are playing just the T20 format throughout the year are getting more wages. It feels different to us. So, I think it is a bit of discredit for us. If you see the other leagues, their local players are the highest-paid players,” Mushfiqur, Khulna Tigers’ skipper for the BBPL, told reporters at the Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday.

Bangladesh’s A+ category cricketers will be paid Tk 50 lakh while foreign A+ category cricketers will receive Tk 84 lakh. Bangladesh’s A category cricketers are expected to get Tk 25 lakh while foreign cricketers in the same category will rake in Tk 56 lakh. According to the wicketkeeper-batsman, this discrepancy was a disappointment.

However, the experienced cricketer was hoping that such differences will not exist from the next edition of the BPL, when franchises reenter the picture.

“We never get the expected wages and we tried to notify them about it [during the players’ strike]. They [BCB] also gave us hope. Maybe this BPL was arranged in a hurry and luckily it is happening. And it is now on the field; that is the main thing for us.

“And I am not only talking about top players; they should also review the other grades. The players who perform consistently the whole year should be ranked higher. Maybe there are only four-five top players who perform well consistently the whole year. If I say Shafiul [Islam] or Taijul [Islam], they played outstanding last year. Or Rahi. They are in B or C grade. So I think they [BCB] should look into these matters. And this will be good for Bangladesh cricket,’’ he said.