Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed get major boost in new contract

19-year-old right arm off break bowler Mehedi Hasan was one of the prosperous players who made it to the contracted player’s list revealed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for 2017. He was not the only fresher who was successful in grabbing a place but Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mosaddek Hossain and Taskin Ahmed also managed to book a berth for themselves in the contract.

Rubel Hossain who was severed a blow in 2016 when he was not included in the list has also earned a spot among the contracted players for the 2017 season. The players who faced the axe also had some familiar names. Nasir Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain and Arafat Sunny weren’t considered for a central contract by the BCB. The reason behind the chopping of these players might be their absence from the Bangladesh team for a substantial period of time.

Mehedi, Rabbi and Taijul Islam saw their names in the Grade D category and were also given a pay hike. These players will be rewarded with  US $15,000 each this year according to the new contract which is definitely a bonus keeping in mind that they got $11,250 last year. Mehedi Hasan has turned out to be a dazzling young prospect for Bangladesh cricket over the past few months delivering consistently across formats.

Taskin and Mosaddek have also made a statement this year by earning themselves international caps in all three formats of the game.

Grade C also saw their remuneration jump from $15,000 each to $22,500 each which is an upgrade for the players placed in that bracket. The likes of Rubel, Taskin, Mosaddek and Mustafizur Rahman belong to this group.

Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar have been locked in Grade B and will earn $30,000 in the 2017 season. The new contract list is a wake up call for Mahmudullah who has been demoted from Grade A+ to Grade A which will see him earn $45,000 this year.

Players fortuitous of bagging a Grade A+ berth will be paid $60,000 a year with a bonus for the vice captain and captain. The list of highest paid players includes Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza who will earn $63,000 a year as per the new contract.