What are the 11 points Bangladesh cricketers demand?

The country's cricket is not going in the right direction, believe top Bangladesh national cricketers and they have called for a strike to press home their 11-point demand.

At a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday, the players said they would refrain from taking part in any cricketing activities till their demands were met, which leaves next month's India series in doubt.

Here are the demands they put forward:

Naeem Islam (1): Let the players decide who will be the president and the general secretary of Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (COAB).

Mahmudullah (2): The players should have the right to decide which team they would play for and how much they should be paid.

Mushfiqur Rahim (3): The players are willing to play the 'special' BPL, but from the next year the franchise-based system should resume. The gap between the prices of local and foreign players need to be bridged. Let the players decide who will be put in which grade of the drafts.

Shakib Al Hasan (4-5): The pay package for playing first class games needs to be better. They feel match fee should be raised by 50 per cent, which will mean the amount getting increased to Tk 100,000. Training and gym facilities should also be improved. Coaches, physios and trainers should be emplyed for the whole year so that first class cricketers can follow their advices.

They know that these facilities cannot be ensured this season, but from the next year they should get them. All the divisional teams should get ample facilities. The first class matches should be played with a quality ball since the national players find it difficult with sub-standard balls.

The players should be kept at better hotels when they go on touers during first class matches and the food quality should improve. The hotels should have swimming and gym facilities. The players should travel by air.

Enamul Junior (6): The number of national players on a contract has to be increased to 30. The salaries have not been raised in the last three years, so that has to be increased, too.

Tamim Iqbal (7): Local coaches should get due importance. The pay disparity between local and foreign coaches needs to be eliminated. The umpires, physios, trainers and groundsmen all should get better salaries and facilities.

Anamul Haque Bijoy (8): The number of ODI and T20 matches needs to be increased. There should be another T20 tournament before the BPL. Previously in the National League, an ODI game was played besides the first class match. That needs to be reintroduced.

Nurul Hasan (9): There should be a schedule of the local cricket matches so that players can plan well ahead.

Junaed Siddique (10): The arrears of the Premier League needs to be cleared in due time.

Farhad Reza (11): The ban on playing more than two franchises need to be lifted. If there is no commitment with the national team or the national league, a player has to be free to play elsewhere.

Shakib (closing): Before a ball is bowled, in many of our first, second or third division games we know the result. Very often we see a batsman getting out in a good delivery after poor decisions hurt him in 2-3 matches and then his career is over. We need this to end if we are to ensure a bright future for the young players. The players won't play a single game till these demands are met.