BCB’s hiked contract list includes four new faces

Dhaka, May 3 (IANS) All-rounder Mehedi Hasan is among the four fresh additions in the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) list of contracted players for 2017, along with other first-timers Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.

Rubel Hossain was also included in the list after missing out in 2016 while Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain and Arafat Sunny failed to retain a contract after missing out most of international cricket last season.

Mehedi, Rabbi and Taijul Islam have been included in the grade D category and will receive $15,000 each this year, an increase from the $11,250 awarded to players in the category in the previous contract cycle, according to espncricinfo.

Rubel, Taskin, Mosaddek and Mustafizur Rahman have been slotted a grade higher, and are set to receive $22,500 each. The previous remuneration for players in grade C was $15,000.

Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar have all been classed in Grade B, and will earn $30,000 this year. Mahmudullah is the only player in the list of 16 to be included under grade A, having been handed a demotion from grade A-plus, and he will receive $45,000.

The quartet of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal have been included in grade A-plus and will receive $60,000 this year, coupled with an incentive for being a captain or a vice-captain. The trio of Mushfiqur, Shakib and Mashrafe are the highest paid, and will receive $63,000 each. In the last contract cycle, players in the A-plus grade were paid $37,500.

The BCB had decided to hike the salary of its contracted players this year after consultation with the senior players, who pointed out that they earn far less than all other Test-playing nations and less than their counterparts in Ireland and Zimbabwe.