Shakib excluded from BCB contract, Mahmudullah opts out

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has finally revealed the list of centrally contracted cricketers for the year. As per BCB’s press release on Monday (March 10), Shakib Al Hasan has been left out of the contract, while Mahmudullah Riyad has voluntarily withdrawn his name. However, Mahmudullah remained under contract for January and February but will not be included from March onwards.

This year, BCB has listed 22 contracted players. Regarding Mahmudullah’s two-month contract, BCB stated that he was kept out of the contract at his request. He was placed in the ‘B’ category for these two months.

On the other hand, Mushfiqur Rahim announced his retirement from ODI cricket on March 5, having previously stepped away from T20I cricket in 2022. As a result, he will now focus solely on Test cricket. He was initially placed in the ‘A’ category for January and February but will receive a ‘B’ category salary from March onward.

Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan has been absent from the national team since last year’s tour of India. Following the change in government, he has been unable to return to the country. Additionally, his suspension due to an illegal bowling action has effectively sidelined him from cricket. Given these circumstances, his chances of returning to the national team appear slim. Consequently, he has been left out of BCB’s central contract for the first time in his career.

Taskin Ahmed stands as the only cricketer in the highest ‘A+’ category, making him the highest-paid among the 22 contracted players with a salary of Tk10 lakh.

In the ‘A’ category, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Kumar Das, and Mushfiqur Rahim will each receive Tk8,00,000. The ‘B’ category offers a salary of Tk6,00,000 per player, with Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mustafizur Rahman, Towhid Hridoy, Hasan Mahmud, and Nahid Rana included in this group.

Cricketers in the ‘C’ category will earn Tk4,00,000 each, including Sadman Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shariful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Sheikh Mahedi. Meanwhile, the ‘D’ category, with a salary of Tk200,000, comprises Nasum Ahmed and Syed Khaled Ahmed.