Two clubs back out of Women's DPL at eleventh hour

The second and final day of the players' transfer for the upcoming Women's Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League was held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday, but events took an unexpected turn as two clubs, Sheikh Russel KC and Ajax SC, no-showed for the second consecutive day, signaling their withdrawal from the league and creating uncertainty among the cricketers.

The 11-team tournament now looks to be a nine-team affair and national pacer Jahanara Alam expressed her frustration about the turn of events.

"I think it's disappointing for women's cricket that two clubs backed out from the league at the last moment. As you know, not all cricketers are financially solvent. It's a big blow for the girls who wait for the Dhaka league each year," Jahanara told the media yesterday.

"I recruited two cricketers who were supposed to represent Ajax SC for my team last night. But it's sad that many players are still looking for a team. I hope the BCB will handle such issues strongly in the future so no other team can back out from the league at the last moment."

According to the sources, the two clubs did raise some concerns to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) before eventually backing out from the league. It was also learned that there was bargaining over councillorships from the two clubs but the two parties could not come to an agreement in the end.

"It's definitely a concern but everyone has some limitations. The clubs raised some issues but obviously it's disappointing that some of the players are now uncertain about their participation in the league since the two clubs did not participate this season," BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

As in previous seasons, each club can field one foreigner in their playing eleven in the round robin league. Organisers are yet to announce the schedule but it was learned that the league is likely to begin between May 23 to 25.