Transfers return, uncertainty remains
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is all set to reintroduce the pool system in the next edition of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), the country’s most prestigious fifty-over domestic competition.
It was learned that the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) was in the final stages of forming a pool of 48 players, from which each team will pick four players in next year’s DPL.
“The proposal to introduce a pool for the DPL was discussed but nothing is finalised yet. We are waiting for CCDM chairman [Kazi Inam Ahmed] to arrive, after which we will take a decision in this regard, and if that is approved, we will prepare the pool accordingly,” said a BCB official, who wished to remain anonymous.
When domestic and national players had gone on a three-day strike from October 21 to 23, one of the more important points in their 13-point demand was a return to the traditional players’ transfer system by which the players can choose their own clubs and negotiate salaries instead of the players-by-choice lottery system first introduced in 2013.
Faced with the strike that shook the country’s cricket, the CCDM had almost instantly agreed to return to the players’ transfer system from next season. But with the players’ pool in place it is unlikely that all the cricketers will receive the same amount of money that they were expecting earlier. The reason behind the BCB’s decision to introduce the players-by-choice system was mainly because of the players high salary demands, which according to the clubs were unrealistic and tough to fulfill.
It was learned that an out-of-favour national cricketer who had played for Tk 20 lakh last season asked for Tk 55 lakh for the next edition and according to Mohammedan Sporting Club official Tarikul Islam Tito, such demands would only cause trouble for the players.
“I think those players will be in trouble unless they start reducing their demands. A club can take a maximum of four players from the pool, but if a club decides to take less than four players, I don’t know whether the unpicked players can be picked as they were before or whether they will have to be cleared first. I am aware that many players are yet to confirm their team despite some of the clubs having already started to form their squads.
As the DPL is the biggest source of income for a majority of domestic players, especially those who do not get a chance to play the lucrative Bangladesh Premier League, the cricketers were desperately waiting for a return to the traditional players’ transfer system. It seems, however, that despite a return to the old system there is still some uncertainty.
“One club official contacted me and said that they are thinking of picking me and I accepted their offer, saying that they should pay me in cash. All of a sudden the club official called me and said that they are not ready to sign me up as they want to see how it goes in the transfer market,” said an experienced performer, request anonymity.
I think those players will be in trouble unless they start reducing their demands.
Tarikul Islam Tito
Mohammedan official
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