Local and foreign cricketers to get equal payment in BPL

The next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is set to begin in January next year. Seven franchises have been finalised by the BPL Governing Council already. Today, they've announced the pay scale of the cricketers playing in the tournament. 

Local and foreign cricketers are set to get almost equal payment this time. The payment of the highest category local cricketers will be BDT 80 lakhs. Foreign cricketers will get a maximum of 80 thousand dollars (about BDT 83 lakhs).

BPL Governing Council Chairman Sheikh Sohail and Secretary Member Ismail Haider Mallick gave this information to reporters on Monday.

Like the last season, the next BPL will also be held in three venues in the country. A total of 46 matches will be played at Mirpur Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Chittagong Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and Sylhet International Stadium respectively.

No icon cricketer is being kept this time. However, the teams can directly contract with a cricketer, there is no fixed salary limit here. 

The franchises can buy cricketers from seven categories in the players' draft.

As in the previous editions, each team can play four foreign players. The BPL Governing Council is planning to have at least two foreign cricketers in the XI. 

"We will allow a direct contract in the case of local cricketers. The rest of the cricketers should be taken from the draft. Regarding foreigners, you know that the South African League, and UAE League; are owned by Indian franchisees. Most of the foreign players have been signed there. We also cannot postpone the tournament due to the busy schedule of the national team," Ismail Haider Mallick said.

In that case, a team can play a maximum of four foreign players.

"However, we are planning to have at least two foreigners in the playing XI. We will not place any obligation on the registration of foreign players. Even if someone comes and plays for three days, another person can come to replace him," he added. 

There will be seven grades of local players. The highest category of local cricketers is 'A' and the lowest is 'G'.

According to the order of the category, the maximum remuneration of 80 lakhs and a minimum of 5 lakhs of taka have been fixed.

The foreign 'A' category cricketer's salary is 80 thousand US dollars.

Regarding the payment of the cricketers, the Secretary Member of the BPL said, "In the case of the local players, we will keep a maximum of BDT 80 lakhs. It will remain a draft. And there is no limitations in direct signing. It is decided by the players and the franchise. 80 thousand dollars for foreigners. There will be seven grades in payment - 80 lakhs, 50 lakhs, 30 lakhs, 20 lakhs, 15 lakhs, 10 lakhs, and 5 lakhs - respectively. And there is no such thing as an icon."