Bangladesh’s cricket authorities have confirmed that they compensated three senior cricketers who prioritized playing for the national team over participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season.
On July 3, officials from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that a total of $65,000 was divided among the three senior cricketers as partial compensation for their decision to prioritize national duty over the lucrative IPL in India.
Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s cricket operations chief, explained in an interview that the players were compensated on a case-by-case basis, and the BCB does not plan to make it a regular practice. The decision was made with the well-being of the players in mind.
“This is just a small gesture on our part. They did not demand any money from us formally, but we felt they should be at least partially compensated, if not fully. We believe playing for the national team should be unconditional. But our board will consider it case-by-case, as players’ well-being is also one of our priorities,” Yunus said while addressing the media.
The three players who received compensation are Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Da, and Taskin Ahmed.
Shakib, who was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the IPL 2023, had to withdraw from the tournament as the Bangladesh national team were to square off against Ireland during the same time.
Vice-captain Litton was also denied clearance by the BCB to participate in the cash-rich league despite being selected by KKR. Nevertheless, Litton joined the KKR setup after the one-off Test against Ireland but returned home after playing just one match.
Fast bowler Taskin remained unsold at the IPL auction and did not receive any bids from the franchises. However, the BCB confirmed that Taskin received an offer from an IPL franchise as an injury replacement.
On the other hand, Mustafizur Rahman was the only player from Bangladesh who participated in the IPL, representing the Delhi Capitals (DC), but he only appeared in two matches.
