Tamim Iqbal Announces Landmark Pay Rise for Domestic Cricketers

The mood around Bangladesh cricket had been turning sour. The Bangladesh Premier League was postponed, the country’s only franchise T20 cash cow taken off the calendar, and anxiety began to creep through the dressing rooms and club tents. Domestic players, already squeezed by fluctuating Dhaka League incomes, saw another major revenue stream vanish.

On Thursday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Tamim Iqbal walked into an impromptu press conference and tried to flip that narrative on its head.

A landmark pay rise

After a meeting of the BCB’s working committee in Mirpur, the board president announced a sweeping overhaul of match fees across domestic formats – for both men and women – in what amounts to one of the most significant financial resets in Bangladesh’s cricket history.

The numbers are stark.

• Men’s first-class match fees jump from Tk 70,000 to Tk 1.5 lakh per game. When Tamim first took charge of the BCB ad-hoc committee, he had already pushed that figure to Tk 1 lakh. Now he has gone even further, more than doubling the original rate.
• List A match fees for men have been doubled as well, from Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh per match.
• Domestic T20s follow the same pattern: Tk 40,000 becomes Tk 80,000.
• The women’s game has not been left behind. The match fee for a women’s four-day game rises from Tk 20,000 to Tk 40,000.
• One-dayers go from Tk 15,000 to Tk 30,000.
• T20s for women are doubled from Tk 10,000 to Tk 20,000.

“Everything has increased by 100% or more,” Tamim said, laying out the scale of the decision.

One league on hold, hundreds of careers in play

The trigger for this move lay partly in the discontent that followed the BPL postponement. A section of players, uneasy about their financial futures, had already voiced their frustration with the Cricketers Welfare Association leadership, questioning how strongly their case was being pushed to the board.

Tamim’s response was to widen the lens.

“So, what we have all decided together is that, overall, in the BPL, you will see 50, 60, 65, 70 local cricketers play,” he explained. “But if you think about Bangladesh cricket, in first-class, List A, T20, there are plus or minus 150 to 200 cricketers involved.”

The message was clear: the BPL may grab headlines, but the backbone of the game lies in the grind of first-class, List A and domestic T20 cricket, where far more players earn their living.

He acknowledged the squeeze many had felt in recent years.

“Now, their well-being, in the Dhaka League, maybe financially, what it was two or three years ago, perhaps that has dropped. Plus, because the BPL will not take place this year, there can be a financial impact.”

The pressure finally told, and the board chose a structural answer rather than a short-term bandage.

“I never wanted a one-year solution for the players,” Tamim said. “I wanted there to be a solution, my board wanted there to be a solution that would benefit them year after year after year.”

From insecurity to stability

Tamim believes this new pay structure changes the basic financial equation for a domestic professional.

He broke it down in simple terms. If a domestic cricketer plays a full season, including his salary, he estimates an annual income of Tk 35 lakh to Tk 40 lakh.

“If you divide that by 12, a player will have an income of more than Tk 3 lakh per month,” he said. “To run their family, I don’t think they will need to worry anymore. It is a significant step.”

The intent is obvious: a cricketer should be able to live securely by playing BCB tournaments alone, without having to cling desperately to the BPL as a financial lifeline.

Tamim also pushed back against the notion of confrontation between players and board.

“One or two proposals had come from the players’ side. Eventually, we both side – I don’t consider it two sides at all. There is only one side, that we are all one. Cricketers, the cricket board, directors, president – all are one.”

The raise, then, is being sold as a joint move for the long-term health of the game, not a concession extracted under pressure.

Big money, bigger demands

With the money comes a clear warning. The BCB expects something back.

Tamim made it explicit that the board will not entertain pleas or backdoor requests from players who fail the mandatory pre-season fitness tests.

“We will fully fulfil the demands that came from the players’ side, but they also have to fulfil the demands from our side,” he said. “There will be no sacrifice when it comes to professionalism in first-class cricket, which is something that is discussed a lot sometimes among us.”

He left little room for ambiguity.

“When someone fails to pass the fitness test, there will be no requests or anything like that listened to. When the board is providing everything and giving all financial support, the professionalism from the players’ side will now also be monitored very strongly.”

The bargain is simple: the board pays more, the players raise their standards. No more hiding behind reputation or influence when it comes to basic fitness and commitment.

A shifting financial model

Behind the bold pay hike lies another, quieter shift. Cricbuzz understands the BCB is no longer keen to shoulder the entire financial burden of certain tournaments such as the National Cricket League (NCL) T20 and the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) four-day and one-day competitions.

That tension between investment and sustainability will shape the next phase of domestic cricket. For now, though, Tamim has planted a flag: domestic players, men and women, will earn significantly more for the same work.

The BPL may be on hold, but the message from Mirpur is unmistakable – Bangladesh’s cricket economy will not be built on one glamorous tournament alone. It will stand, or fall, on the strength and professionalism of the 150 to 200 cricketers who live their careers in the domestic trenches.