Big step for cricket but the players need assurance

Bangladesh cricket has gone through one of its most momentous and exhausting periods after its cricketers decided to go on strike with a 13-point demand and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) finally obliged to most of them.

It was not a matter of coincidence that the players decided to make their demands in unison in front of the press on 21st October at around 2 pm.

Some key factors led to this historic movement and the effects it may have.  

Infiltrating a broken system

The domestic cricket structure has for a long time required an upgrade. It had been facing criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity with very little done by those in charge to fix the issues. 

The issues have been long and multi-dimensional, starting from poor facilities at grounds to the ground staff not being paid adequately and the local players also not being paid on time by the clubs.

Despite calls for change from the media and some players including Shakib Al Hasan, nothing was changing. 

Whatever the reason may be, those in power to make a difference simply was not acting swiftly enough to bring about the changes and it needed such a movement to get things going forward. 

The perfect timing

With the tour of India coming up, and the National Cricket League's (NCL) second round of matches just over the previous day, and with Shakib, the chief protagonist in the movement, also back from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the moment was ripe for the movement to take place.

But this took time to culminate as a few things happened in the prior weeks and months before the players had enough. 

A few of the key factors included the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) being turned into a non-franchise league, making it less lucrative for the cricketers this year, and also the sudden decision to increase the beep fitness test level up to 11 without prior notice.

The players knew that if they spoke up now, they would certainly be heard, especially with the ICC Test championship in place and missing the tour of cricketing giants India would have led to bigger repercussions from the ICC.   

More than just respect

The first thing that Naeem Islam mentioned in the first point of the 11-point demand on Monday was respect for the players from the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB).

Cwab had for long failed to meet the needs and demands of the players and the issues they were facing, including low wages, allowances and lack of facilities for the players.

The players demanded the Cwab have a new president, one that is elected by the players, and one that is a former player that can better understand the needs of the current cricketers.

Aside from that, the local coaches have been paid much less than the foreign ones, with the likes of spinning coach Daniel Vettori reportedly making 1,000 USD per day.

Players demanded that the board should pay the local coaches better for their efforts. 

The same applies to the ground staff and many of them have been underpaid and that is something that the players have spoken about. 

It is not just the welfare of the players, but the welfare of the cricket structure and the future of Bangladesh cricket that the players have spoken about. 

The potential casualties

Seeing as the president of the BCB Nazmul Hassan took it as a personal attack, even though the lawyer Mustafizur Rahman spoke on behalf of the players and explained that the demands were in no way a personal attack against anyone.

Cricket and the national cricket team in Bangladesh is not a club team; it is national property and it should be treated as such and that is something that the players have been rightly trying to get across. 

But that does not mean that the current board will not ever want to take revenge on the fringe players in the future. 

The financial health of the top players might be undented but the players that are on the fringes and are just moving up the ranks might still be affected negatively by this movement.

Especially the older players that are still playing local cricket by are not on the radar of the national team.

Eventually, this movement from the players have the attention of the country and the cricketing world and this should definitely help move Bangladesh cricket forward. 

The BCB has agreed to 11 out of the 13-point demands and only time will tell how quickly and efficiently they react to these demands, as the players are finally being given the respect they deserve.