Yesterday, the second and final day of the players’ transfer for the upcoming Women’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League was held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. However, events took an unexpected turn as two clubs, Sheikh Russel KC and Ajax SC, no-showed for the second consecutive day, signaling their withdrawal from the league and creating uncertainty among the cricket players.
In light of recent developments, national pacer Jahanara Alam has voiced her displeasure with the reduced field size of the competition, which was originally scheduled to feature 11 teams.
“I believe it is unfortunate for women’s cricket that two clubs withdrew from the league at the eleventh hour. You are aware that not all cricketers are able to support themselves financially. “It’s a huge disappointment for the girls who look forward to the Dhaka league every year,” Jahanara said yesterday in an interview with the media.
“Yesterday night, I was able to sign two cricket players who were originally slated to play for Ajax SC on my squad. However, it is unfortunate that a large number of players do not yet have a squad to join. I have high hopes that the BCB will deal with such problems forcefully in the future, so that no other club will be able to pull out of the league at the eleventh hour.
Before ultimately withdrawing from the competition, the two clubs reportedly voiced some issues to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), according to the sources. In addition to this, it was discovered that negotiations had place between the two clubs over councillorships; but, in the end, the parties involved were unable to come to an agreement.
“It is most certainly a cause for concern, yet everybody has certain constraints. “It’s disappointing that some of the players are now uncertain about their participation in the league since the two clubs did not participate this season,” BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star. “The clubs raised some issues, but obviously it’s disappointing that some of the players are now uncertain about their participation in the league.”
In the round robin competition, each team is permitted to include one foreign player in their starting eleven, as was the case in previous seasons. Although the organizers have not yet made the schedule public, it has been determined that the league will most likely get underway between May 23 and May 25.