Bangladesh cricketers call for bigger bonus after historic series win over England

Hassan says the board will reward them for the “special” achievement

National cricketers have asked Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan for additional bonus after a clinical 3-0 sweep of world champions England in the T20 series.

Hassan said the board would meet their demands for this “special” achievement.

The Tigers, who had been stumbling their way through the shortest format, handed the limited-overs kings a 16-run defeat in Mirpur on Tuesday to stun the cricketing world.

Before the series, England were the only team who did not lose a series to Bangladesh in any format. It was England’s second bitter 3-0 rout in a T20 series after losing against Australia in 2014.

“I always give them a large bonus if they achieve something good against a team for the first time. They’ve always known this… So they will be rewarded for this,” Hassan said.

The central contract of the BCB already has provision of bonuses for series wins and other achievements. The bonuses are higher for successes against teams ranked higher. England are currently ranked second in T20Is.

“The two things to consider here are that they [England] became world champions just four months ago and we rarely play against them. They arrived here after seven years and we haven’t been to England for 12 years. So we are not used to playing against them.”

He lauded the Tigers for doing so well against players seasoned in tournaments like the Indian Premier League.

“Another factor is the wicket. We’ve been trying to make good wickets in Mirpur since the last BPL. We’re satisfied with it.”

“I’ve told them we’ll take care of it. They will get what they always get. And [they will get more] according to their individual performances.”

The board president did not mention the sum of the bonus but said it would be calculated in a couple of days.