Rajshahi overseas players stranded in hotel due to payment delays

Durbar Rajshahi's overseas players are effectively stranded at their team hotel in Dhaka due to the franchise repeatedly missing payment deadlines. Despite their attempts to reach out for updates, the team owner and management have not responded to the players, who are now waiting for tickets to return home. As of the time of this report, the players remain in Dhaka.

Rajshahi were eliminated from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Saturday when Khulna Tigers beat Dhaka Capitals on the last day of the league stage.

According to an Espncricinfo report, Mohammad Haris (Pakistan), Aftab Alam (Afghanistan), Mark Deyal (West Indies), Ryan Burl (Zimbabwe) and Miguel Cummins (West Indies) are all waiting for some portion of their payments due. A couple of them have been paid 25%, while some haven't been paid at all. Furthermore, the players haven't received daily allowance for the last 11 days.

Rajshahi have been dogged by financial problems from the start of this BPL. Anamul Haque said that the local players hadn't received any payments prior to the start of the tournament as they are usually played 25% before the tournament starts. They boycotted a training session in Chattogram last month, while the overseas players boycotted a match. Burl and Haris eventually made themselves available to play and helped them stay in contention for a playoff finish, but they fell short on net run rate.

Rajshahi owner Shafique Rahman got into trouble with the team hotel in Chattogram after failing to pay them on time. Photos of security personnel sitting outside his room went viral, while Rahman's car was seized by the hotel authorities. Later, when the Rajshahi team returned to Dhaka, they were forced to check out of one hotel due to payment issues.

Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, member-secretary of BPL's governing council, said that the BCB didn't vet the Rajshahi franchise properly when they were taken on board last year. "I think we didn't judge the franchises properly. I think we didn't verify their experience and financial strength. It has now put us in a difficult situation."

On Saturday, Bangladesh's sports adviser Asif Mahmud said that he spoke to Rahman, warning him of the consequences.

"I spoke to the Rajshahi owner, who assured us that he will clear the payments," Mahmud said. "I have told him clearly that if he fails to do so, we will take legal steps. No more discussions. Our fact-finding committee will be looking into how this team came to be."