'Shocked' BAI asks IBL owners to pay dues to players

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has given instructions for immediate disbursement of dues of players and coaches who represented certain franchisees during the Indian Badminton League (IBL). This follows media reports of non-payment of dues. BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta directed IBL’s commercial partner Sporty Solutionz to ensure the players’ payments are released immediately. [caption id=“attachment_1282635” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta directed IBL’s commercial partner Sporty Solutionz to ensure the players’ payments are released immediately. Getty Images[/caption] “We were shocked when we read the media reports about non-payment of dues to the players. I personally have asked the events company to ensure all payments are cleared immediately and no player should complain,” Das Gupta said in a statement Wednesday. Das Gupta, also the IBL governing council chairman, insisted that they would soon put a mechanism in place to ensure such problems did not arise from the next edition. “We are monitoring the situation closely till all payments are made to the players. Any faltering will be dealt with strongly and action will be taken. We will also discuss the issue during the next governing council meeting and put a foolproof mechanism in place,” added Das Gupta. “One solution could be to take a bank guarantee from the team owners before the start of the next edition. However, the final decision will have to be taken only after the meeting.” IANS