Bangladeshi players call off strike; BCB accepts initial 11-point demand

Bangladeshi cricketers called off their strike late on Wednesday after holding talks with the top brass of their cricket board, where they were assured that nearly all their demands would be met.

Officials from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BSB) and players had held the meeting to discuss the 13-point demand raised by the latter. The meeting lasted for more than two hours, reported ESPNcricinfo. Even though 11 demands were initially raised by the cricketers, two were added just ahead of the meeting.

The new demands include a call to the BCB to share a percentage of their revenue with the players and equal pay for women cricketers.

BCB chief Nazmul Hassan Papon described the meeting as "fruitful" and said that the board has agreed to fulfil the initial 11 demands of the players, noting that it was not aware of the additional two demands until a few hours before the meeting began.

"As Papon said, it was a fruitful discussion," team captain Shakib Al Hasan said. "He and the rest of the directors assured us that our demands will be met as soon as possible. Based on their assurance, we will start playing the NCL and attend the training camp," he added.

The strike, which began on Monday, had cast doubt over Bangladesh's tour of India, starting November 3.

The original 11-point demand included the reversal of the BCB's decision last month to abandon the Bangladesh Premier League's (BPL) franchise-based model. The decision had resulted in the reduction of the average professional cricketer's earning to an all-time low.