Bangladesh's cricketers have decided not to participate in any cricket activity for the foreseeable future until their demands for the improvement of cricket in the country are met. The immediate impact of their action will be on the National Cricket League, currently in progress, the training camp for next month's tour of India, and possibly the tour itself.
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The players released a list of 11 demands, including a reversal of the Bangladesh Cricket Board's decision last month to abandon the Bangladesh Premier League's franchise-based model. Those present at the press conference, at the National Cricket Academy in Dhaka, included Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah.
The BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said they would react only once the demands are presented to them formally and they know the details.
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The state of cricket in the country had led to simmering discontent among the players. The trigger seems to be the decision on the BPL, which reduced the average professional cricketer's earning to an all-time low. The players' woes were furthered after the BCB didn't raise the match fees in the first-class competition that began earlier this month. These, in addition to the salary cap applied to the Dhaka Premier League, although it used to be an open market for club-to-club transfer for players, for the last several years.
More to follow…