Bangladesh axes six players from contract

Bangladesh axed six players from national contracts after a year of poor performances with players who escaped the chop being denied a pay rise, an official said yesterday.

Opening batsmen Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes were among the six to miss out on a contract as Bangladesh cricket warned players to shape up, selector Habibul Bashar said.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board late on Wednesday decided to retain just 10 players on contract.

“For contracts, we mostly preferred players who would perform regularly over the next one year,” Bashar said.

“Some players have lost their regular spot in the team. They needed to be sent a message. Getting dropped does not mean the door is closed for them. Everyone will get a fair chance in future.”

Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Kamrul Islam Rabbi were the four others whose contracts were not renewed. Sabbir was already excluded from a contract on disciplinary grounds.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mominul Haque, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam and Mehedi Hasan were the 10 players awarded contracts. BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters that contracted players would not be given a pay rise this year.

The top remunerated players — Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mortaza — are paid 420,000 taka ($5,121) per month from the board.