The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is facing growing scrutiny over its persistent failure to pay players on time, with our recent cricexec industry poll revealing that 91% of cricket executives believe the league should lose its ICC-sanctioned status due to repeated financial breaches.
The poll, conducted among top cricket executives worldwide, highlights increasing concerns within the global cricketing community over the BPL’s financial instability and the broader impact of delayed or missing player payments in global franchise cricket. The findings come after multiple reports from cricexec detailing unpaid salaries, franchise disputes, and even public admissions from teams over financial misconduct.
A Troubling Pattern in the BPL
Despite assurances from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan that payment issues would be resolved, several BPL franchises have failed to meet their contractual obligations to players, prompting widespread criticism. In response to growing concerns, the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) formally called on the league to rectify its payment issues, while the BCB itself has threatened legal action against non-compliant franchises.
The issue came to a head recently when Durbar Rajshahi, one of the BPL teams, issued a public apology after players protested over unpaid fees. The situation has not only affected player morale but also severely damaged the league’s credibility among international professionals.
The Case for ICC Action
The overwhelming poll results suggest that many in the industry feel the ICC should take decisive action against the BPL by revoking its sanctioned status. This would remove its legitimacy as an official T20 competition and likely deter high-profile players from participating in future editions.
The push for accountability reflects broader concerns about the lack of financial safeguards in global franchise leagues. Tom Moffat, Chief Executive of the WCA, emphasized the need for a more structured approach to player protections:
“Late and non-payment is a persistent issue in domestic leagues globally, and the issue is not getting better. We have advocated for a long time for some basic global protections that could assist the players, and the game, to address this issue.”
Moffat further stressed the need for standardized payment protections in officially sanctioned leagues:
“In any league that is officially sanctioned, players should have confidence that their contracts have some basic protections and minimum standards in them. These include standards around payment terms, and that there is a fit-for-purpose enforcement mechanism, such as a global arbitration body, to address breaches. We’ve assisted a number of players globally to take collective action in the past, but it shouldn’t come to that. 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.”
Structural Issues Plaguing Domestic Leagues
The BPL’s struggles are not unique. Andrew Breetzke, CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), linked the issue to larger structural concerns within the growing number of domestic franchise leagues worldwide:
“It’s obviously shocking, but it goes to the heart of a number of the challenges we’re facing with the proliferation of these T20 and T10 events around the world. There are two issues that ultimately will undermine—even destroy—any domestic league around the world. The first is corruption. If corruption is an issue in your league, it will destroy the integrity of your league and ultimately it will fail because the players will stay away. The second big one, of course, is the non-payment of players.”
Breetzke warned that repeated financial breaches in any sanctioned league could undermine the trust of players, sponsors, and fans, ultimately leading to the league’s collapse:
“If those two elements of corruption and non-payment are not sorted, then your league ultimately will fail. And the one thing we always say to our players is: In any league you go to, you need to make sure that there’s some upfront payment, that there’s some understanding. Before you get on the airplane, you need to be sure of the financial elements. And sadly now, it appears Bangladesh is a league that has got a number of problems.”
His comments also questioned whether ICC sanctioning is an effective safeguard for players:
“I don’t believe you can rely on ICC sanction because the way that sort of sanction filters down, it’s quite evident that that isn’t working.”
Instead, Breetzke points to the WCA’s League Hub which contains relevant information on leagues for players to review and consider:
“…that’s actually become quite a significant job role of ours. So if you go on the WCA website, there’s actually a league hub there where we’ve got all the leagues in the world and there’s information packed for every player on every single league to say, this is what you need to know about this country, and yes, there have been payment problems here. So it’s almost a warning light. So we go to players and say, you need to actually do your homework. But of course, it’s often driven by agents. So it’s not just a player. It’s an agent who says, ‘I’ve got a deal.’”
Will the ICC Respond?
The BPL’s financial instability has led to growing calls for reform, but it remains unclear whether the ICC will take decisive action. Historically, the ICC has largely left franchise leagues to be governed by their respective cricket boards, intervening only in cases of severe corruption or match-fixing allegations.
However, with 91% of cricket executives now openly advocating for the BPL to lose its sanctioned status, pressure is mounting for the ICC to reassess its role in overseeing financial compliance within franchise leagues.
If the BPL’s payment crisis remains unresolved, the league risks long-term reputational damage, deterring top-tier players and possibly jeopardizing its future viability as a professional T20 competition.
For now, the global cricketing community watches closely to see whether the ICC, BCB, and BPL franchises take meaningful steps to address the crisis—or whether the league’s credibility continues to erode.
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Name of Author: Zee Zaidi
