Tamim Iqbal - led Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) started his first position at work by launching major changes which would enhance the operations of Bangladesh cricket, report agencies.
Bangladesh women's cricket received a much-needed boost with the BCB increasing domestic match fees and salaries significantly. This is the first major decision by the Tamim Iqbal-led ad-hoc committee which became functional on Tuesday.
Moreover, BCB has revised the match schedule for the upcoming white-ball series against the New Zealand national cricket team in line with the government's energy conservation measures. Tamim said on Wednesday that starting the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) at the earliest is a key priority for the new administration.
The Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, the BCB body tasked with organising Dhaka's club cricket, had earlier announced that it would meet DPL clubs on April 8. However, the meeting was eventually postponed, and Tamim said he is keen to sit with club representatives at the earliest.
Professional cricketers in Bangladesh had grown increasingly impatient with the standoff between the Aminul Islam-led BCB and Dhaka's clubs, a tussle that has dragged on for seven months.
The impasse has stalled the DPL, prompting several cricketers to voice their frustration on social media, even as the Cricket Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) continues efforts to resolve the deadlock.
With Tamim taking over the reins, there is renewed hope that the deadlock between the clubs and the BCB will ease, paving the way for the DPL, Bangladesh's premier List A competition and a key pathway for national team talent.
Tamim said the board has decided to significantly increase salaries and match fees for first-class cricketers, while also addressing long-standing pay issues in women's domestic cricket.
"We have also taken a few other decisions regarding our first-class players, both men's and women's. To be honest, I was personally quite surprised today after reviewing some of the figures," Tamim told reporters.
According to Tamim, the revised structure will cover all eight National Cricket League (NCL) teams, with contracted players set to benefit across three categories. Category A players will see their monthly salaries rise from Tk 35,000 to Tk 65,000. Category B players will earn Tk 50,000, up from Tk 30,000, while Category C players will see an increase from Tk 25,000 to Tk 40,000.
Tamim described the previous structure as inadequate. "Over the past three to four years, there has been almost no increment. Again, I believe this is highly underpaid. They put in immense effort, and it is because of them that we have this cricket board and this cricket structure today," he said.
Match fees for first-class cricket have also been raised from Tk 70,000-75,000 to Tk 1 lakh per match. The revised structure will be effective from January 1, with players set to receive adjusted payments retrospectively once contracts are finalised.
"It is already April, and for this year, four months have passed, yet they have not received their salaries, probably because contracts have not been signed. So whenever they receive their payments, it will be calculated from that date," Tamim added.
The board has also moved to address disparities in women's domestic cricket payments. Tamim noted that match fees had once been as low as Tk 1,000, later increased to Tk 5,000 - figures he termed unacceptable.
"Do you have any idea how much our women cricketers are paid as match fees in domestic cricket? At one point it was just Tk 1,000... which I feel is completely inadequate," he said.
Under the revised structure, women players will earn Tk 10,000 for T20 matches, Tk 15,000 for one-day games, and Tk 20,000 for longer formats. Monthly domestic contract salaries have also been increased from Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000, with around 30 to 35 players currently under contract.
Tamim added that the board is also considering changes to the schedule of the New Zealand series, set to begin on April 17, in line with government directives to conserve electricity, although he did not provide revised timings.
The match timings of the upcoming Bangladesh-New Zealand men's white-ball series and the women's T20I series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been changed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board) BCB to support the government's energy saving initiative, according to ESPNcricinfo.
All three ODIs in Dhaka and Chattogram were supposed to be day-night affairs, but now the board has said they will bring the start time forward by three hours. The ODIs will now start at 11am local, with the aim to finish the matches by sunset which is around 6.30pm during this time of year. The BCB expects to save at least four hours in electricity consumption.
The men's T20Is will start from 2pm, with the aim to finish them by 5.10pm. The first two T20Is in the three-match series were initially scheduled for 6pm starts, while the third T20I was already scheduled to start at 2pm.
The women's T20Is, to be held in Sylhet on April 28 and 30, and May 2, will now be held from 1.30pm, instead of the originally planned 6pm starts. "The board has decided to readjust the match timings of the forthcoming Bangladesh vs New Zealand ODI and T20I series to support the energy saving initiative of the Bangladesh Government. The revised timing, which will be announced in due course, will aim to make maximum use of daylight in the day-night games," the BCB said in a statement on Wednesday. New Zealand will play the first two ODIs in Dhaka on April 17 and 20, and the third ODI in Chattogram on April 23. The first two T20Is will be played in Chattogram on April 27 and 29 and the final T20I will be in Dhaka on May 02.
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