Domestic cricketers' payments from BCCI remain due after pay hike

CoA chairman Vinod Rai has said that the domestic players' payments will be “doled out shortly”

What's the news?

Domestic cricketers in India are finally set to receive a hike in their annual salaries after much ado. Upon finalization of the gross revenue share of the BCCI, every domestic cricketer is set to make a minimum of INR 26 lakh for every season that he plays at the national level. “If a domestic cricketer was making around Rs 10 lakh per season, he will make Rs 20 lakh upfront from BCCI and another Rs 6 to 7 lakh from BCCI’s gross revenue share to make it Rs 26 lakh,” Vinod Rai, the chairman of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which runs the BCCI, said.

In case you didn't know..

On the recent upgradation of the international players' pay by the board, there was a theory which was doing the rounds, stating that the CoA was interested in increasing the salaries of the cricketers at the highest stage only. There was a lot of outrage over the same and Rai has now maintained that India's cricketers will continue to receive the proposed 26 percent share from the BCCI's gross revenue.

The heart of the matter

Former India captain and the current president of the CAB Sourav Ganguly has been extremely vocal regarding the issue for a long time now and seemed very pleased once the payments were increased by the board. "I think that is very commendable from Rahul [Johri] and the Board. And as he said I have been harping for it for the last one-and-half years, increase the money for first class players,” Ganguly had recently said at the India Today conclave in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Rai explained the formula of the BCCI distributing its gross revenue amongst the cricketers. He revealed that the 26 percent share would be broken up into three portions: 13% for international players, 10.6% for the domestic cricketers and the remaining 2.4% for women cricketers and juniors.

What's next?

Though the salaries have been increased, the board is yet to clear the payments of the players, something which Rai said would be “doled out shortly”. The domestic players will now be paid INR 35,000 on a per day basis, a sharp jump from the earlier payment of INR 10,000.

Author's Take

An issue to have plagued the game multiple times in the past – top West Indies players went on a strike in 2009 while disagreement between Australian cricketers and their board regarding salary led to the cancellation of an “A” tour of South Africa last year – even domestic players' pay remaining on par with their efforts and contributions has become a must in the modern day. They seek a salary at par with that of their counterparts from other countries, thus ensuring an equal pay.