The Bangladesh Cricket Board has decided to introduce paid maternity leave for women cricketers, women’s wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu told The Daily Star on Friday. Four months is the figure on the table for now, and the full board has still to approve it.
For a women’s programme with no maternity policy until now, that is a real step. It also sits well short of Australia and Pakistan, who both offer up to 12 months, and nothing said so far covers what happens to a player’s contract while she is away.
Reading time: 3 minutes
Key points
- Four months’ paid leave is proposed for now, and the women’s wing wanted six
- The full board has still to approve it, and no date has been given
- The BCB has moved to pay former pacer Suraiya Azmin four months’ salary
Four months proposed, six still being argued
Rafiqul said directors discussed it at an online board meeting on Thursday. “We have decided to introduce paid maternity leave, and it will also be approved by the board,” he said.
Length is the open point. “Some recommended four months, while we suggested six months. Four months has been proposed for now, but it could be extended to six months,” he said. No date has been given for the formal approval.
Suraiya Azmin’s case forced the issue
Former national pacer Suraiya Azmin emailed the board on 9 May asking for paid leave and got no reply, according to a column in The Daily Star. She gave birth in August and was left off the national contract list with the request still unsettled. On 26 October the paper’s print edition reported that the lack of a policy had led several women cricketers to consider quitting.
The BCB has now moved to pay her four months’ salary. Rafiqul said he has signed the payment, which should reach her account within a day or two. “I feel happier knowing that they are finally taking steps towards introducing paid maternity leave,” Suraiya told the paper.
How four months compares
| Board | Paid leave | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Cricket Australia (2019) | Up to 12 months | Extension guaranteed |
| Pakistan Cricket Board (2021) | Up to 12 months | Extension guaranteed |
| BCB (proposed) | Four months, possibly six | Not mentioned so far |
Pakistan’s terms date from May 2021 and Australia’s from 2019, so neither is new. The Daily Star lists New Zealand among the boards that also pay contracted players. The ICC’s Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines, issued on 22 June, set out six stages of recovery and retraining, but the release says nothing on pay and leaves policy to each board.
What four months is worth to a player
On the pay scale the BCB approved last November, four months comes to Tk 6.4 lakh in Category A and Tk 3.2 lakh in Category D. That list holds only 15 women. Another 35 are on the Tk 30,000-a-month national contract, where the same leave would be worth Tk 1.2 lakh.
Rafiqul has not said how far the leave reaches, including whether it touches players whose income comes from domestic and BPL deals. The bigger gap is the contract itself. National deals last a year and renewal rests with the selectors, The Daily Star’s column says, so a player can be paid through her leave and still lose her place on the list.
What happens next
The board has to sign it off and settle the length, while its attention this week is also on the Sylhet Test. Watch whether the policy comes out in writing with a contract guarantee, which is what the Australian and Pakistani versions have and what would make it more than a one-off payment.
For more, see our teams hub and the Women’s Premier League guide.
Top image: Photo: DeloarAkram / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
18+ only. If you choose to bet on cricket, set limits and bet responsibly. Help is available at our responsible gambling page.
Macaela Becker
Macaela is an iGaming writer who covers sports betting, casino platforms, and industry news. She researches betting markets, odds, and bonuses to create clear, practical guides.
She focuses on helping you stay informed while making betting easier to understand.
