11 demands met following four-day strike . . .
When Bangladesh’s cricketers went on strike Monday, they demanded eleven concessions from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The concessions were broad reaching, including everything from higher salaries and revenue sharing, to control over tournament structuring and pay parity for women players. The BCB’s chairman railed against the players, suggesting they were “conspiring against and tarnishing the image of the country.” Bangladesh’s Prime Minister appointed Mashrafe Mortaza, a leading Bangladeshi cricketer and now a Member of Parliament, to help resolve the standoff.
Players strike just before India tour . . .
It is no coincidence that Bangladesh’s players initiated their job action as their team was preparing for a series of matches against India, in India, throughout November. Money is at the heart of the players’ demands, and in world cricket India is the golden goose. The BCB is looking at a large cash infusion from its tour to India, and its players were keen on a slice of the action. It took just four days for the BCB to agree to the players’ terms and for players to agree to end the strike – although several players admit to being confused by the outcome of negotiations, with the BCB offering little detail on how they will meet players’ demands.
India’s economic growth recasts world cricket . . .
India is central to world cricket’s finances: C$2.7 billion of the C$3.9 billion in International Cricket Council (ICC)’s television rights comes from India, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the world’s most lucrative domestic competition. A few years ago, the ICC, under significant pressure from Indian organizers, reorganized the international cricket calendar to ensure no major international tournaments or tours interfered with the IPL competition. This allowed the world’s leading players to play in the IPL without having to opt out of commitments to their national teams, which aren’t able to offer financial terms anywhere close to those of the IPL. Within a generation India has become the undisputed centre of world cricket, a transition built on more than one billion increasingly-affluent Indian fans and their willingness to pay for TV and online access to the game they love.
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- Al Jazeera: Bangladesh cricketers go on strike over pay, other demands
- Cricinfo: BCB chief lashes out at players’ strike, but says board is ‘open for talks’
- The Daily Star: Cricketers withdraw strike
