The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Durbar Rajshahi owner has promised to clear all the dues following a controversy in which the team’s overseas players were left stranded in a hotel in Dhaka.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Monday, the team owner Md Shafiq Rahman has promised to complete the payments of all their players, and support staff by February 10.
The statement said that, earlier, the Durbar Rajshahi owner had assured the sports adviser Asif Mahmud of completing 50% payment by February 2.
However, the government stepped in after he failed to fulfil his promise and rumours were circulating about him fleeing the country.
According to the Bangladeshi news outlet The Daily Star, the franchise owner was interrogated by law enforcement agencies in the early hours of Monday.
“He [Shafiq] accepted his fault and promised to clear all the payments of the team in three instalments each on February 3, 7 and 10,” the media release stated.
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“He also assured that alongside the players, everyone involved with the team would also receive their payments in each instalment. Otherwise, whatever necessary legal actions will be taken against him.”
For the unversed, Durbar Rajshahi a new addition in the 11th season of the BPL has made headlines this edition due to the payment issues.
Their overseas players were left in a lurch at a hotel yesterday due to non-payment while reports of them not clearing the dues of the hotel and even the team bus also made buzz on social media.
The most notable players who were struck in Dhaka due to the above-mentioned issue included Pakistan’s Mohammad Haris, Afghanistan’s Aftab Alam, Zimbabwe’s Ryan Burl as well as West Indies’ Mark Deyal and Miguel Cummins.
According to the reports, the majority of these players were waiting for their payments due while a couple of them have been paid 25%. Additionally, the players haven’t received a daily allowance for the last 11 days.
The team nearly missed playoffs on Saturday when the Khulna Tigers thrashed Dhaka Capitals on the last day of the league stage.
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