The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will resume as scheduled on Friday after a resolution was reached between the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in a late-night meeting on Thursday. Senior Bangladesh players had protested statements made by Najmul Islam, who has since been removed as the board’s finance committee’s chairman, which led to two BPL matches and four matches of the Dhaka Cricket League being postponed.
“Keeping the greater interest of cricket in mind, we will resume playing tomorrow [on Friday]. They [the BCB] have assured us that they will reach out to him [BCB director M Nazmul Islam] and fulfil our demands as early as possible,” CWAB president Mohammad Mithun told reporters in a press conference along side BCB director Iftekhar Rahman after the meeting.
The BCB had announced Islam’s sacking in a statement earlier in the day. “…Following a review of recent developments and in the best interest of the organisation, the BCB President has decided to release Mr. Najmul Islam from his responsibilities as Chairman of the Finance Committee with immediate effect,” said the BCB in a statement.
“Until further notice, the BCB President will assume the role of Acting Chairman of the Finance Committee. The BCB reiterates that the interests of the cricketers remain its highest priority.
“The Board remains fully committed to upholding the honour and dignity of all players under its jurisdiction…BCB hopes that all cricketers will continue to display the highest standards of professionalism and dedication to the betterment of Bangladesh cricket during what is a challenging period for the game and will do their utmost to ensure continued participation in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).”
The furore started after Najmul, while reiterating Bangladesh’s refusal to travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup on account of “security worries”, rejected concerns surrounding players’ remuneration should the country withdraw. Najmul had earlier described former captain Tamim Iqbal as an “agent of India” after the latter called for a restrained handling of the standoff with India, warning that decisions taken today would have impact 10 years down the line.
