Bangladesh’s cricketers have agreed to play again after a long Thursday night meeting with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and their own union, the Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). The decision means Friday’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) fixtures, abandoned on Thursday when neither Chattogram Royals nor Noakhali Express showed up, should now go ahead.
Speaking just before midnight at the board’s headquarters, CWAB president Mohammad Mithun sat next to BCB director Iftekhar Rahman and confirmed the truce. “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.”
The deadlock centred on comments made on Wednesday by long-serving director M Nazmul Islam, who suggested the board owed players no compensation if Bangladesh failed to appear at the next T20 World Cup. Asked about potential financial losses, he launched into a tirade: “Why [would there be]? Are we asking them for the crores and crores of taka that we are spending on them? Answer me first,” he said. “We are spending so much money on them, they are not being able to do anything. Have we got any international awards? What have we done at any level? Let us now ask them for the money back after every time they couldn’t play. Give us back. Why should there even be a question of compensating the players?”
The remarks, made at a prayer meeting for former prime minister Khaleda Zia, angered senior professionals and led CWAB to demand Nazmul’s immediate suspension plus a public apology before play could resume. The board has only gone halfway: Nazmul has been stripped of his role as finance-committee chair, though he remains a director while an internal review gets under way.
According to Iftekhar Rahman, due process is now in motion. “He [M Nazmul Islam] has been given 48 hours to respond, which will end at noon on [Saturday]. Then it will go to the disciplinary committee, as per the constitution and the process will continue.” The apology CWAB wants is still up in the air, with BCB president Aminul Islam signalling that Nazmul may resist a public mea culpa.
Earlier on Thursday the board met franchise owners, keen to protect both gate receipts and the league’s television deal. A second gathering with player representatives followed at around half-past ten, clearing the way for the late-night press conference and today’s restart.
In a short statement released soon after Nazmul’s outburst, the BCB expressed “ sincere regret” and insisted it does not “endorse or take responsibility for any statement or remark made by any director or Board member unless issued formally” through official channels. Iftekhar later described the episode as “unfortunate”, admitting the board had still not managed to speak to Nazmul directly.
From a cricketing perspective, the disruption has come at a tricky moment. Overseas players are arriving and practice windows are narrow. Franchise managers, already juggling centrally-contracted national players and incoming internationals, worried a longer standoff would have forced schedule changes and potentially voided some foreign-player contracts. One coach, speaking off the record, said teams were preparing back-up lists in case the strike stretched into next week.
The dispute also exposed simmering tension over how Bangladesh’s elite players are valued. Match fees at home now compare well with other full-member boards, yet bonuses and injury cover remain contentious. CWAB used Thursday’s talks to push again for an independent welfare fund and clearer insurance terms; both ideas will be revisited once the Nazmul inquiry is complete.
For now the attention swings back to the field. Friday’s opening match, shifted to an earlier slot to avoid evening drizzle, should go some way to easing nerves. Whether the underlying distrust has been fixed is less certain, but at least the ball, new and white, will be in the air again.
