Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is facing challenges in obtaining bank guarantees from franchises participating in upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), raising concerns over players' payments ahead of the T20 competition starting on December 30.

Despite collecting Tk eight crore in guarantees from each franchise in previous years, BCB has struggled to ensure timely payments to players, with several local and foreign cricketers voicing complaints about unpaid dues. Some even reported the issue to the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), forcing BCB to step in and settle the payments.

After becoming BCB boss, Faruque Ahmed significantly reduced the bank guarantee amount following requests from franchises. Currently, BCB is asking Tk three crore from each franchise as a bank guarantee, which they wanted to confirm by December 24 after extending the deadline multiple times and reducing the amount on each occasion.

It was learnt that some franchises are unwilling to provide a bank guarantee this year, citing the current financial situation in the country, and have instead promised to clear the payments themselves.

When questioned about the matter, it seems the BCB boss is also aware of the situation.

"Our country is facing tough times financially now. We all live in Bangladesh, so we know about it. That's why we are increasing the time (deadline for the bank guarantee)," Faruque told reporters following the board of directors meeting in Mirpur yesterday.

"We want to serve our purpose, and there shouldn't be any extra pressure on BPL teams. We definitely want to confirm the bank guarantee from them as we have increased the time. Apart from that, we reduced the amount due to the financial conditions right now," he said, adding that BCB is also struggling to secure other sponsors.

"It has been challenging for both the board and team owners to get sponsors. We want to make things easier, keeping everything in mind," he said, adding that the board has also started clearing last year's pending payments to players.

"The board has started to pay the local cricketers from those teams that are not participating this year. We have already cleared 25 franchises from last year," said Faruque, confirming that they secured Modhumoti Bank as the title sponsor for the BPL Music Fest, scheduled to be held in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chattogram on December 23, 25, and 28, respectively.

"Modhumoti Bank has come on board as the title sponsor of the BPL Music Fest. They are kind enough to pay close to Tk five crore, which I think is a good amount," he concluded.