The Bangladesh national cricket team will board a flight to the West Indies on June 6 to play the full series. To that end, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 16-member squad for the Test format, 17 for the ODIs and 15 for the T20 format. However, this time the board is planning to lay off extra cricketers to save costs.
Speaking to reporters after the board’s second formal meeting on Thursday, Papon said of the Windies tour, “We noticed a big factor that the cost is skyrocketed. I am not talking about the country. The cost of many things has gone up. The ticket fare which was 3-4 lakhs before, is now becoming 10-11 lakhs. The hotel rent was about 250 dollars. It now costs at least – 400- 500. Even after giving so much, it is not available. Cost is a big issue. “
That is why we have said in the meeting that this cost should be reduced. The way we have sent so many extra players and staff as a precaution, especially in the Covid situation, the way we have sent them so far in foreign tours is no longer the case. Besides, since nothing can be said about the prices of items outside now, the board as a whole has been asked to reduce every budget.
“It started with the West Indies tour,” Papon said of the extra players being dropped from the squad. Those who are not important for the team, may be omitted. This means that the number of players in our announced squad may decrease. However, this is not final.
The BCB president added: “All of us will now present their department’s new year’s budget. They have been told not to increase this year’s budget. We had a lot of new things to do. They are currently being suspended for 3-4 months except for important issues. ”