India, Jan. 15 -- Bangladesh's BPL schedule was jolted on January 15 when players from Chattogram Royals and Nokhali Express refused to take the field, leaving match officials waiting and the toss delayed at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

What looked like a routine league afternoon quickly turned into a standoff with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), with the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) backing a boycott threat unless board director and finance committee chairman M Nazmul Islam resigns. The flare-up comes amid wider tensions around Bangladesh cricket's international planning, including the debate over playing World Cup matches in India.

The flashpoint was Nazmul's remarks a day earlier, in...