Rajshahi’s Foreign Players Miss Sunday’s Match Due to Unpaid Dues

Durbar Rajshahi’s foreign players made the unexpected and unheard-of decision to skip Sunday’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) game against Rangpur Riders. This was caused by the franchise’s inability to compensate the players, which resulted in a dispute between the team’s foreign stars and management. With this choice, a side played a game without any foreign players in their starting lineup for the first time in BPL history.

The Conflict Regarding Non-Payment

With Rajshahi’s abroad players allegedly only receiving 25% of their agreed salaries, unpaid dues have been boiling for a while. Visit Betpro account for more cricket news. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) mandates that franchisees must pay at least 75% of the dues to players from other countries during the competition. The players were frustrated, nevertheless, because Rajshahi’s administration had not fulfilled their duty.

Since the start of the competition, the problem has been growing, with local players increasingly having trouble making payments. A few weeks ago, the issue was brought to light when local players protested by boycotting Chattogram training sessions.

The situation worsened when Rahman, the owner of Rajshahi’s squad, had trouble paying his hotel costs in Chattogram. There were rumors that a security guard was outside his hotel room and his car had been taken because of overdue debt.

The squad moved to a new hotel in Dhaka on Sunday, while the international players stayed at their old accommodation throughout the game. The players strongly protested the absence of money in their decision to leave the game.

Taskin Ahmed Verifies Foreign Players Are Not Present

Taskin Ahmed, the captain of Rajshahi, confirmed the absence of foreign players during the toss when TV analyst Danny Morrison questioned the changes in the playing XI. “A few things have changed—five or four—as there are no foreigners now.” Taskin emphasized the seriousness of the issue by saying, “Today, all the local players are playing.”

BPL Gives All-Local XI Special Approval

The BPL’s regulations normally require every team to have at least two foreign players in its starting lineup. But soon after the toss, the BCB released a statement allowing Durbar Rajshahi special permission to field an all-local XI due to extraordinary circumstances.

“The Durbar Rajshahi team… has applied to the BPL Technical Committee for special approval to field a team consisting solely of Bangladeshi players for today’s match against Rangpur Riders due to the non-availability of overseas players,” according to the BCB announcement.

For the first time in the tournament, a team played a match without any foreign players in its starting lineup after receiving consent in line with Clause 1.2.8 of the BPL 2024–25 Match Playing Conditions.

Rajshahi’s International Players: Important Members of the Group

Players like Ryan Burl, Mohammad Haris, Mark Deyal, Miguel Cummins, Aftab Alam, and Lahiru Samarakoon were among Rajshahi’s international team. Particularly impressive was Ryan Burl, who finished in the top three for the squad in both runs and wickets. 

His absence was noteworthy since he had been instrumental in Rajshahi’s last game, which saw them become the first side to defeat Rangpur Riders this season.

Rajshahi Wins Despite Not Seeing Foreign Stars

In an exciting, low-scoring match, Durbar Rajshahi prevailed despite the absence of their international players. No. 8 Mohammad Saifuddin’s late surge, which included three sixes and a four, nearly gave the Rangpur Riders, who needed 25 runs off the final over, a shock victory. 

However, Rajshahi defeated the league leaders for the second time in four days after Rangpur lost by just three runs. This outcome was especially noteworthy because Rangpur had won eight straight games before suffering back-to-back losses to Rajshahi.

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The Effect on the Group and Potential Consequences

Even though Rajshahi’s victory considerably raised their spirits, the team’s operations have been clouded by continuous payment problems. 

The circumstance emphasizes how crucial it is to handle player compensation in professional cricket with appropriate administration and openness.

The event serves as a reminder to the BPL and the franchises to settle these kinds of conflicts quickly because they can damage the tournament’s reputation and depress player morale. 

Before they think about playing again, Rajshahi’s foreign players—Ryan Burl in particular, who has been crucial to their success thus far—will probably be eager to have their debts paid.

Watching how Rajshahi responds to these internal difficulties as the tournament continues and whether the team can quickly address the financial problems to prevent more disruption will be interesting. Amid the team’s tumultuous season, Rajshahi’s victory over Rangpur has undoubtedly offered a moment of triumph.