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VVS Laxman has expressed his concerns regarding the well-being of the country’s first-class cricketers, with the former Indian batsman stating that state associations should provide contracts to them.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Indian first-class cricketers hard. About 700 players across the nation were impacted as the pandemic forced the cancelation of India’s premier first-class competition - the Ranji Trophy.
In an interaction with the Sportstar, Laxman highlighted the sacrifices made by domestic cricketers and the insecurities that come along while playing the sport. He said:
“I have been telling this for a long time, that first class cricketers should get contracts from their state associations keeping in mind that they are sacrificing everything and they are dedicating themselves to this game. It is very important that a contract is handed over because what happens to a player if he suddenly gets injured? Suddenly there is no income for that player, and if that player doesn’t have a job, then how is he going to look after himself and his family? A contract system - like it is there for the international players - has to be there for the domestic players. It is very important. Especially in the current situation, I believe that it is mandatory and definitely the need of the hour. It is very critical to look after the domestic players’ well-being.”
VVS Laxman’s good friend and teammate for many years, Sourav Ganguly, took charge as BCCI president in 2019. The former Indian captain had listed the contract system for domestic players as one of the priorities, but nothing has materialized yet. Reportedly, the state associations are awaiting clarification on this issue from the BCCI.
Not many domestic cricketers have a job in the government or private sectors: VVS Laxman
Domestic cricketers finding jobs in the private or government sector through the sports quota was common until a few years back.
However, VVS Laxman explained that not many players are lucky on this front as cricket has transitioned to be a professional sport. He added:
“A compensation has to be made to these players. In the past, a lot of players used to have good jobs in a central or state government organization or private companies. Unfortunately, now the jobs that the players are getting are very scarce. A lot of them have taken up cricket as a professional sport, it is no longer an amateur sport. The moment professionalism comes, it means they have to get paid and unfortunately last year, because of the pandemic, some of them were not paid like they would if the entire season would have taken place,” added Laxman, who further stated that the players neither having IPL contracts nor playing for the national side are the worst hit.
At the BCCI AGM in December 2020, the Board proposed a compensation package for domestic cricketers. However, that remains in the planning stage.
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