For years, the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL) has been a lifeline for many cricketers, providing not just a platform for competition but also a crucial source of income. However, recent tensions between Dhaka-based cricket clubs and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) over proposed constitutional amendments have thrown the future of the league — and the livelihoods of many players like Rafsan Al Mahmud and Shamim Sharif — into uncertainty.
For the last seven years, Rafsan has been featuring in the DPL, representing teams like Khelaghar SKS, Partex Sporting Club, and City Club. Last year, he was part of the City Club squad, which got relegated to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League, and this year, he has been preparing for the second-tier tournament — previously scheduled to get underway on January 20 — to bring his side back into the top tier.
However, just a few days before the start of the first division league, the 29-year-old and other players came to know that the fate of the first division league and the following DPL hang in the balance.
“The clubs informed us to leave for home, and they will give us an update on January 26. We don’t know when the tournament will start,” Rafsan told The Daily Star yesterday.
“Most of the players wait for Dhaka leagues for our livelihood. If it doesn’t take place, we, the players, will be the only sufferers,” he added.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Sharif, who has been playing for Azad Sporting Club for the last three years and has been featuring in the first division league for a decade, also echoed similar sentiment. “We are now passing uncertain times,” Sharif said.
Prominent club organiser Rafiqul Islam Babu, one of the key protesters of Nazmul Abedeen Fahim-led committee’s proposals on constitution amendments, believes the changes could destroy Bangladesh cricket. However, he is hopeful of getting a solution to this problem on January 25 following a BCB board meeting.
“The clubs had already started their practice, and it is expensive to run a camp. They need to give conveniences, food, and other practice costs. After telling this to the president [on January 18], he promised to solve the matter as soon as possible,” he added.
Meanwhile, BCB director Fahim — currently in Malaysia for the ongoing U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup — insisted that there have been some “positive” changes in the proposed amendments after the protest, but he does not approve of the numbers mentioned in several reports as well as the memorandum submitted to the board president by the Dhaka club officials.
According to reports, the proposed changes include dissolving the CCDM (Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis), reducing Category-2 councillor positions from 76 to 30, and cutting the number of directors representing Dhaka-based clubs from 12 to four.
“When we will submit it [proposed amendments] to the board, we can discuss it then,” Fahim told The Daily Star.
Although both Dhaka clubs and the constitution amendment committee are backing themselves on their stances, the reality is that their conflict and the corresponding uncertainties are causing a big headache for those cricketers dependent on the domestic circuit for their career.
