The drama keeps on continuing in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL as Durbar Rajshahi have named a playing XI without any foreign players for their match against Rangpur Riders in Dhaka today after their foreign players reportedly refused to turn up at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium alleging payment issues.

This is the first time in the history of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) that a team will be playing a match without any overseas recruits.

This also goes against the BPL bylaws, which say that teams must field at least two foreign players in their XI.

However, the Rajshahi franchise has claimed that they have attained special permission from the BPL Technical Committee to play with only local players.

"The Durbar Rajshahi team, currently competing in the 2025 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20, has applied to the BPL Technical Committee for special approval to field a team consisting solely of Bangladeshi players for today's match against Rangpur Riders due to the non-availability of overseas players. After a review of the request and in accordance with the provisions outlined in Clause 1.2.8 of the Match Playing Conditions of BPL 2024-25, the Technical Committee has granted approval for Durbar Rajshahi to field a team consisting of only Bangladeshi players for this match," a Bangladesh Cricket Board media release read on Sunday.

— BCB media release

Earlier in the day, Rajshahi's Anamul Haque Bijoy posted on social media a photo with the local players of the Rajshahi team with envelopes in their hands, hinting they have received their payments.

However, there were no foreign players present in that picture.

This is the latest episode in the payment issue that has been brewing since the beginning of the tournament. Earlier, Chittagong Kings' owner Sameer Quader Chowdhury said that he has not paid Parvez Hossain Emon as he has some 'personal issues' with the cricketer.