Bangladesh Cricketers Call Off Strike, India Tour To Go Ahead As Planned

The decision came as a relief for the BCB after the strike appeared set to jeopardise Bangladesh's lucrative tour of India where Bangladesh would play three T20I and two Test matches beginning early next month

Bangladesh's cricketers will return to the field as they ended their strike late Wednesday on Friday after the Bangladesh Cricket Board assured them that nearly all of their demands will be met, including a pay hike for domestic first class players. "The talk was successful," said Test and Twenty20 captain Shakib al Hasan who played a key role in the unprecedented revolt which started on Monday. "The BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) president and directors, who were here, heard our demand and they assured us they will meet them at the quickest possible time," he said. The decision came as a relief for the BCB after the strike appeared set to jeopardise Bangladesh's lucrative tour of India where Bangladesh would play three T20I and two Test matches beginning early next month. "Based on their (BCB's) assurance our first-class players will start playing from Saturday and our national team players will join the camp (for India tour) from October 25," Shakib said. BCB president Nazmul Hassan said they would meet most of the demands of the players. "Apart from two demands, we have accepted all nine demands," Hassan said. Supreme Court lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan earlier read out a list of demands on behalf of the Bangladeshi cricketers at a news conference, which also included a "feasible" wage for female players. "Arrangements will have to be made where professional cricketers are given a fair share of the revenue generated by BCB, which, after all, is made possible through the toil and performance of professional cricketers," said Rahman, citing the example of Australia. Bangladesh national and first-class players announced the strike calling for better pay and benefits, raising doubt whether the country's tour of India would go ahead. Shakib, one of the world's finest all-rounders, led the rebellion with all the star players joining the protests. The strike follows increasing criticism from the players that the BCB, the nation's richest sports body, is not sharing its wealth. But in his first reaction after the strike, the BCB's president l Hassan called it a "conspiracy" unrelated to pay. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations praised the players "for taking a stand together in order to secure fair conditions," the body's executive chairman Tony Irish said in a statement late on Tuesday.