It is offcourse more than money!

Onnesha
September 18, 2008.

I am shocked!
I am surprised!
I am worried!

That’s all I can say after hearing the news that 14 Bangladeshi Players are going to play Indian Cricket League (ICL) which is a private cricket league and banned by BCCI and ICC also said that it is ‘NOT’ a legal cricket league.

Bangladesh is a land of dreamers. It does not matter whether we have two square meals or a place to sleep, we dream big and when most of these dreams do not come true we get frustrated. The entire Bangladesh nation is sports crazy. Off late cricket became a game of billions. Cricketers put Bangladesh in the world map. It is not that we became world champions .We lost most of the matches in all forms of games, most by comfortable margins. Yet our brilliant occasional victories made us rejoice wild. Bangladeshi cricketers became heroes. Millions worship them. They are ambassadors of the 150 Million Bangladeshis. Everywhere they play Bangladeshi community remains present to cheer them up. Our cricketers also carry Bangladesh on their shoulder. They did enough to make Bangladesh proud. Whatever they earned they earned with their hard labour .They deserved it. No one gave them any money for charity.

14 Bangladeshi players recently join the REBEL Cricket League which is BANNED in the country where it is based. They players who joined knew that they will be banned because of joining the league. Because other country boards also do the same. They players are-

Habibul Bashar (capt), Aftab Ahmed, Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Farhad Reza, Manjural Islam, Golam Mabud (wk), Mahbubul Karim, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Sharif, Mosharraf Hossain, Tapash Baisya . Another one is yet to be confirmed. Nazimuddin give his resign letter to BCB but didn’t signed with ICL yet. Let’s see what he do.

I will not blame Mohammad Rafique because he already retired from international cricket career few months back. So he has right to earn money now at the terminal part of his career from my point of view. So he has right to join ICL but others are not.

In spite of knowing this, they join the league. Among the 12 players there are some players who has potential to be famous player and star by playing for Bangladesh. But they has gone to the wrong way and they are just FINISHED. Bangladesh Cricket Board banned the 13 players from each type of cricket for 10 years that means there is few chances for them to play for Bangladesh and to be proud by playing for his country.

Now the question arise why they do so? What was there problem? Why they become REBEL and joined ICL?

Is it for money? I think yes. It is for money. The players signed for ICL just for money. They forget what the country gave them. Whay they are Habibul, Aftab, Nafis now. Why the whole World know them know. They just thought about the money.

In their resignation letter to BCB said that they are resigning is for ‘PERSONAL PROBLEM.’ And then they joined ICL. They didn’t say it to any officials of the cricket board or directly to cricket board. They just give the letter and went for India.

I think BCB tries their best to keep the player and bring the to right path after knowing the issue. They tried to discuss about the matter with the players. They send SMS to the players to attend the meeting. They called them but their mobile phones were switched off. But after all, the players refuse to talk with the board and went to India to sign contract with ICL to play for Dhaka Warriors, a new team which will play in ICL this season. Thay said to media that they didn’t get any letter or phone call from BCB to attend the meeting. They just get a SMS. How BCB will get them if their phones are switched off. And I think sending letters with in a day to all 14 players is tuff for any organisation as well as BCB. So I can say that players were determined that they will not meet the cricket board and wil run for money.

Government and board expended a lot of money behind them. They get a lot of money for them. They get treatment in abroad when they are injured. They get well facilities. They get money. After after all they forget all of these and ran for ICl, you know what for. Players complained that unsupporative structure and behavior lead them to play for ICL! “Some of the players are joining the ICL because they are fed up at the way they have been treated by the board,” batsman Shahriar Nafees has been quoted as saying. Is there any logic in this comment? They could talk with the board and inform them what is there problem. Cricket Board arrange meeting for this after knowing they are resigning, But they refuses to talk. Why?

“Please don’t call us rebels,” said Habibul Bashar. “The ICL contracts do not prevent us from playing for Bangladesh. We are as keen as anyone to play for our country.”

I don’t know why they forgot the country, pride, people? They take this kind of decission just before New Zealand series which is very important for Bangladesh now. They just create a problem for the country’s National Cricket Team.

Bangladesh now facing the disastrous face of the illegal league ICL. BCCI already said that it is the internal matter between the cricket board of Bangladesh and the players. But I think BCCI should talk to ICL authority. They should not force to split cricket into two parts which will not be good for cricket.

I think Bangladesh Cricket Board took the right steps for the players. They banned the players joined ICL for ten years. I hope that will stop more players to join ICL. But Board work is not finished. Board have to think why it happened, who are responsible and have to take more steps. They have to think about the contracts of the players. They have to bring more facilities for the players and offcourse the all players who are not in contract with Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Report said that the unrecognized Indian Cricket League took a swipe at the sport’s governing body on Wednesday after signing 11 Bangladesh internationals for their second season.

Meanwhile Bangladesh coach Siddon said, “All I’ll say is that we haven’t lost one player who was in the team for the last Test,” who will shortly begin preparing a squad for a home series against New Zealand. “The guys who were going are gone – and the guys who are staying can get on with the job,” he added.

This post has also been published in Onnesha Blog.