Bangladesh Cricket – BCB vs Dhaka League Clubs match lets players down

However, they are the only ones of the three parties involved who have shown urgency. The BCB, mainly represented by its president Aminul Islam, has shown reluctance to beat the clubs that have taken a protesting stance due to the board elections held in October last year.

The Dhaka clubs are the most represented part of the BCB’s board. Twelve directors are selected from the 76 board members, who then vote the directors into the board during the BCB election.

The Dhaka club cricket scene is a four-tier professional league setup with the Premier League at the pinnacle, followed by the First, Second and Third Division leagues.

What happened to the Dhaka leagues?

Due to all the clubs threatening to withdraw from their respective tournaments, the Dhaka leagues started the First Division late in mid-December. But it ran into trouble. On the opening day, eight clubs enforced a boycott, showing their matches as a “walkover” on the scorecard. The 20-team competition was reduced to twelve teams.

The farce was repeated in January, when the BCB decided to start the Second Division league even though half of the 24 teams were going to boycott the league.

Then, at the end of March – when the BCB called for a coordination meeting of the league’s fourth tier, the Third Division League – only five teams contacted the BCB. Fifteen clubs in the Third League have reportedly said they will also boycott their matches, in the steps of the levels above them.

There are also growing concerns that the Dhaka Premier Division – the pinnacle of the league system – is unlikely to continue. It was supposed to take place at the start of the 2025-26 season.

Why did the Dhaka clubs refuse to play?

Thirty-nine clubs have so far boycotted the Dhaka league. They have one claim. “We consider this cricket board illegal,” Sabbir Ahemd, president of Pragati Seba Sangha and one of the leaders of the club movement, told ESPNcricinfo.

“We could see that there were going to be malpractices and manipulation in the BCB elections. More than 40 out of the 76 clubs withdrew from participating in the polls. We asked the then sports advisor to run the board under an ad-hoc committee, to have free and fair elections. Instead, there were manipulations in the election process.

“We will not play the Dhaka League under a board that we consider an illegal body. We are ready to play under any legal body, which could even be an ad-hoc committee that runs the board,” said Sabbir, who also withdrew from the BCB elections.

What did the board do to bring clubs back?

There was hope that the newly elected board directors, led by Aminul Islam, would put cricket front and centre, above the BCB’s off-field policies and activities. This was far from the case.

CWAB president Mithun had to hound both the clubs and Aminul on several occasions to get them to agree on a date to start the leagues. The clubs stuck to their decision, while Aminul also remained evasive.

Mithun said, “It will not be fair to blame only one side in this matter. It started with the BCB elections and over time both sides became bitter. There was another party involved in the elections. They should also bear the blame. It is the players who are suffering.

“The clubs pulled out of the elections and later said they would not play the league under this board. In that case, the BCB had to be more flexible and active (to) resolve the dispute.

“I admit that the clubs have supported Bangladesh cricket since the birth of the nation… Rather than stopping the leagues, they could have participated in the greater interest of cricket and cricketers,” Mithun said.

Sabbir said there was precedence for a more amicable approach from the previous season, when then BCB president Faruque Ahmed resolved a dispute between the clubs and board.

“Soon after the board changed in 2024, Faruque appointed Ahmed Nazmul Abedeen Fahim to the constitution revision committee. The first thing he proposed was to reduce the Dhaka representation on the board. It was clear that he was against the Dhaka League.

“We stopped the Premier League in protest against Fahim’s move. Faruque bhai boldly met us to discuss our concerns. We were back (on) the pitch soon after,” he said.

However, Sabbir said Aminul had mostly ignored the Dhaka clubs since he took over as president in June last year. “Bulbul bhai (Aminul) has ignored the clubs since he became the president. He did not invite the clubs in one meeting. We whispered that they could not find the time or the budget to invite the club officials. These club officials have made a lot of personal sacrifices to run the teams. They do all the running for sponsors. There was a lack of respect towards the clubs.”

Earlier this week, BCB director Faiazur Rahman, who is also the vice-chairman of CCDM – the committee that runs the Dhaka leagues – also expressed his frustration with the BCB.

“Before I became the BCB director, my main identity (was) as a cricket organizer. It is not desirable that the Dhaka league should be held back. I have made all possible efforts to start the league. It must be admitted that the cricket board is not working as it should be. The board’s activities are not progressing at full speed. Kaler Kantho.

What happens to the players?

As the fight continues, the cricketers across the country remain unpaid. It is estimated that at least 1200 male and female cricketers are currently facing a financial crisis due to the clubs’ boycott. However, club official Sabbir said that many clubs have already paid their main team members long in advance.

“Those who know the club cricket scene properly, they will know that most of the clubs close their player contracts at the end of a season,” he said. “We don’t do the contracts when the BCB announces the schedule. It is done almost 12 months in advance. Also this time most of the clubs have prepared their team in the previous season. We have already made advance payments to the players, and we will pay them the rest of the amount when the league progresses.”

Mithun, who was elected CWAB president in September last year, also sees hope. “When we were elected to CWAB’s central committee, we were committed to becoming the players’ voice,” he said. “We have access to all avenues (to get the leagues up and running), so I’m hopeful to find a solution.”