WCA criticizes BPL over ongoing payment issues

Player payments in the BPL have been a recurring topic of discussion. The World Cricketers' Association (WCA) has strongly criticized the league regarding this issue.

Tom Moffat, the CEO of the World Cricketers' Association (WCA), told ESPNcricinfo, "It's disappointing to hear about more non-payment issues in the Bangladesh Premier League, which has been a repeat offender over a number of years. These issues are unacceptable, they aren't getting better, and it's the players who make the event that are impacted. In any league that is officially sanctioned, players should have confidence that their contracts have some basic protections and minimum standards in them, and that they can be enforced efficiently."

"The game is not currently capable of solving transnational issues like this at the moment, and that needs to change if it wants to continue to claim to be a leading global sport in 2025."

In the 11th edition of BPL, several franchises were linked to payment issues, with Durbar Rajshahi causing the most controversy. The team faced strong criticism for not paying players on time, and Rajshahi's players even threatened to boycott matches multiple times due to unpaid wages. In one instance, the team had to play without foreign players, marking the first such occurrence in BPL history. This led to the WCA expressing its dissatisfaction with the payment situation. In the previous season, 15 players had also raised complaints about unpaid wages, prompting further criticism of the league from the WCA.

Earlier, the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) expressed serious concern over the delayed player payments, saying, "The failure to pay players as per their contracts has harmed the reputation of Bangladesh cricket."