The police have arrested the owner of Darbar Rajshahi over a salary dispute in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
According to media reports, Darbar Rajshahi owner Shafiq Rahman has assured the government of all payments in installments by February 10.
Earlier, in a conversation with the media, he had claimed that return tickets had been arranged for all foreign players to return home, while many foreign cricketers were stuck in Bangladesh due to non-payment of return tickets, including Pakistan’s Muhammad Haris.
Due to non-payment of compensation, the players boycotted practice and foreign cricketers boycotted group stage matches, due to which the franchise had to hire local cricketers for the match.
Local players’ cheques bounced, team hotel payments were not made, while the driver locked the players’ kits in his bus on the last day, making it clear that he would not return the equipment until the transport dues were paid.
All these issues have severely damaged the reputation of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which has led to the Sports Ministry taking notice of the matter.
When police detained Shafiqur Rahman, he assured government officials that he would pay all dues by February 10.
Shafiqur Rahman had earlier assured sports advisor Asif Mahmood of 50 percent payment by February 2, but then he did not follow through, following which the government took action and detained him.
The statement issued by the Sports Ministry said that Shafiqur-ur-Rehman admitted his mistake and said that he would pay the money in 3 installments. The first installment was assured to be paid on Monday itself, while the second installment will be paid on February 7 and the remaining amount on February 10.
He has assured to clear not only the players but also all other dues by February 10.
