BCB to claim full compensation for Robi’s contract termination

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that their legal team will sit down with the legal team of Robi Axiata Ltd -- the telecommunications company that cut short a sponsorship deal with the BCB yesterday -- to settle the matter, adding that BCB will ask to be compensated in monetary terms for the full amount of the contract.

He said that the matter is being run through the BCB's legal team and if there is ground for claiming compensation, the Board will raise the issue.

"It is not a matter of paying fines. The legal teams from both sides will settle the matter. Our claim would be to ask for the full amount which was to be paid for the duration of the contract," the CEO said.

"We are determined in this stance. If there are claims and anything comes up legally, then we will see the matter."

Robi became title sponsors of the national team in 2015. Their contract was renewed in 2017 which was to continue till the 2019 World Cup but was later extended till January 20, 2020.

The BCB CEO reiterated that the board was taking steps so that players sort out their personal contracts which were in conflict with the team's sponsor. He felt that the termination of contract was more of a strategic move on Robi's part than a conflict with players' individual sponsorships.

"I think the reason may be a strategic one. What they said is not acceptable to us at the moment because we were taking steps according to their wishes and they knew about it."

In line with BCB directive to players to wrap up their personal contracts with competing telecommunication companies, Tamim Iqbal had terminated his deal with Grameenphone, Shakib Al Hasan with Banglalink. Mashrafe Mortaza's deal with Grameenphone is also headed the same way.

The CEO informed that when Mashrafe signed his deal with Grameenphone, there were no clauses regarding conflict of interest in the initial two-year contract with Robi. It came into effect after the contract duration was extended to January 2020.

The CEO also said that in future, the players cannot go into signing for brands which conflict with the interests of the team's sponsor.

"Individual freedom of players [regarding individual sponsors] and team sponsorship actually cannot happen together. When an individual sponsor goes on a massive branding move with an individual player, it dilutes the situation.

"The BCB's role will be to see that players don't sign for conflicting sponsors," he said.