The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to take another big step towards making domestic cricket more attractive for cricketers. The board has taken several steps in recent times to ensure that players give due importance to domestic cricket.
Earlier this year, the BCCI issued a directive to players as it made it mandatory for cricketers to represent their state teams when they are not playing for Team India. The board had to take the step after several players avoided playing in the Ranji Trophy to stay fit for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The BCCI is now reportedly considering increasing the remuneration of domestic players. While the board is yet to take a final decision on the matter, it has given the responsibility to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel to come up with suggestions on how to implement the idea.
According to a Cricbuzz report, the BCCI is unlikely to make an immediate announcement regarding the increase in match fees. However, the national selection committee has discussed the proposal. By increasing the remuneration, the BCCI wants to ensure that domestic players who do not have IPL contracts do not feel deprived.
BCCI to double fees for domestic cricketers:
While the BCCI is yet to take a final decision on the matter, all stakeholders believe that the fees for domestic cricketers should be at least doubled. There is also a proposal that domestic players should earn between INR 75 lakh and INR 1 crore annually if they have played 10 Ranji Trophy games per season.
Currently, a player earns INR 60,000 per day if he has played more than 40 Ranji games, INR 50,000 if he has played between 21 and 40 games and INR 40,000 if he has played 20 games. On the other hand, substitute players get between INR 30,000, INR 25,000 and INR 20,000 in the respective categories.
As per the existing pay scale, a senior player would earn up to INR 25 lakh if his team reaches the finals, while others in the team would earn between INR 17 lakh and INR 22 lakh. The BCCI now wants to ensure that the income of domestic players increases substantially from the next season.
The main objective of the BCCI is to ensure that players give priority to red ball cricket. There have been suggestions from various quarters to increase player fees and the board is finally working on it. Last month, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced an incentive of Rs 45 lakh per match for players who played 75% or more of the scheduled Test matches in a given season.
Following the announcement, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the BCCI should also increase the fees of domestic cricketers.
“If the Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled, there will certainly be many more people playing the Ranji Trophy, and many fewer withdrawals from the Ranji Trophy, because if the fees for playing a Ranji Trophy match are a good fee, there will be fewer people who will withdraw for various reasons,” Gavaskar had said.