Amidst controversy, players strike and delay BPL matches

The ongoing strike by Bangladeshi players, demanding the resignation of Mr. Najmul Islam, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, has severely disrupted the activities of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) tournament. The players claim they were deeply humiliated by a statement made by the said chairman and are taking a strong stance that they will boycott matches if he does not step down from his position. As a result, it was a notable incident that no team reported to the stadium for today's scheduled match.

The match between Noakhali Express and Chattogram Royals was scheduled to start today (15th) at 1:00 PM at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, but both teams refused to arrive at the stadium even several hours before the scheduled time. The Cricket Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) had announced on January 14th that players would not participate in this match if the Chairman of the Finance Committee did not resign.

Following the failure of discussions between cricket board officials and player representatives, the Players' Association arranged a special press conference at a hotel in the capital, notably held at the same time the match was scheduled to begin. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) issued a statement expressing regret over the official's statement and mentioned that disciplinary action has been initiated against him, giving him 48 hours to explain his conduct.

The Cricket Board further emphasized that since the BPL tournament has now reached its final stages, they expect the players to demonstrate their professionalism for the success of the tournament. However, internal sources confirm that given the current crisis, today's match might be delayed by several hours, depending on the outcome of the Players' Association's press conference.