Reports: BCCI not to renew contracts of Sunil Gavaskar, L Sivaramakrishnan

The Board of Control for Cricket for India has reportedly decided not to renew the contracts of Sunil Gavaskar and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. Whether or not they will be able to continue their commentary stint will then be dependent on broadcasters Star Sports.

Gavaskar, the former Indian legend apparently draws a salary of around Rs 3.6 crore per annum. Along with Gavaskar, the BCCI employed Ravi Shashtri and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan in 2010. Under the it was mandatory for the BCCI-event broadcaster to have them in the commentary panel in matches organised by the BCCI which also includes the Indian Premier League.

The BCCI has a production house and it produces series for all domestic matches, but after the on-going World T20 a decision will be made as to whether full-time commentators or to offer contracts for each series. The exact reason for this decision is not known, although the hefty salaries could be one reason. At a time when the Shashank Manohar-led BCCI is trying to redeem its image, this step was deemed necessary by many of its members as they considered the amount to be too draining. Apart from the BCCI, Star Sports also pays the commentators an amount ranging from 35,000 to 1 lakh per day.

The duo along with Ravi Shastri will, however, be behind mikes during the upcoming IPL. There has been widespread criticism of Indian commentators for not speaking on the controversial issue that involves the BCCI, for instance, the DRS or even turning pitches. The main reason many believe for this is the clause in the contract and hence, the BCCI is now looking to dust off these allegations.

The BCCI is also looking at ex-players who have evoked interest in the recent past during their commentary stint. Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Aakash Chopra, VVS Laxman have been quite good and hence the board now wants to invest in them.