With rise in pensions, former Indian cricketers and umpires can lead rich life outside the cricketing ecosphere

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The BCCI is the richest cricketing body in the world.

There was a time a few decades back when Indian cricket was not as affluent as it is today. Cricketers from the country used humble means to travel for matches. Many former cricketers from India have narrated tales of how they used to be paid meager sums for match fees.

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Back in 2019, renowned journalist Makarand Waigankar tweeted a picture of the Indian side's team sheet, which featured in an ODI on September 21, 1983.

The image revealed that the Indian players, led by 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev, were paid a sum of ₹200 per day as allowance and ₹1500 as match fees per game!

Even after India won the 1983 World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to organize a concert by legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar in Delhi to raise funds to pay the World Cup heroes.

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The event allowed the BCCI to collect a decent amount of money, after which each of the members of the World Cup-winning team received ₹1 lakh each as a cash award.

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Sunil Valson, a member of the legendary 1983 Indian squad, had told PTI:

“It was a very decent sum in those days. We would otherwise save up tour money and daily allowance for that month and it came to barely Rs 60,000. I remember some people said we will give you Rs 5000, some said Rs 10,000 and it was very disrespectful at times. But then Lata ji sang in that concert.”
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Things gradually began to change after the heroic 1983 win, as cricket started gaining immense popularity in the country. The 1987 World Cup that was held in India, with Pakistan as co-hosts, gave a major fillip to the growth of the sport. By the '90s, commercialization set in and today the BCCI is the richest cricketing body in the world.

The Indian cricket board’s riches have benefited not just the current cricketers, but even former cricketers and umpires, who have often complained of not being paid enough.

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A number of retired cricketers have had to urge for benefit matches to raise funds for themselves. That has definitely changed with more and more moolah being pumped into Indian cricket.


When BCCI doubled the pension of former cricketers and umpires

In June this year, the BCCI doubled the pensions of former first-class and Test cricketers as well as umpires. Former first-class players, who earlier received ₹15,000 per month are now being paid ₹30,000. For former Test cricketers whose pension was ₹37,500, the same has been increased to ₹60,000. Also, those in the ₹50,000 bracket are getting paid ₹70,000.

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In an official release, BCCI secretary Jay Shah revealed back then:

“A total of around 900 personnel will get the benefit of the scheme with more than 75% of the beneficiaries getting a 100 % raise.”
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Reacting to the development, the Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA) thanked the Indian board and commented:

"The announcement by the BCCI has been very well received by our members, many of whom have benefitted with this move in these days of rising prices and falling interest income, all of which has become a world-wide phenomenon.
“That this 75 to 100 percent rise in pension comes on the back of the increase in medical reimbursement from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for those who have played 10 and more First-Class matches makes it even more welcome."
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Some renowned former Indian cricketers are not dependent on BCCI’s pay for survival. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, and more recently, Sanjay Manjrekar, have made a more steady income from cricket commentary and analysis. Their views, especially of the first two, are much sought after.

While Indian cricket has been making heaps of money for a while now, former cricketers have not always benefited directly from it. The massive raise has definitely helped their cause in a substantial way. Going forward, we are likely to hear fewer Vinod Kambli-like tales, thanks to the increase in benefits from the BCCI.

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Also Read: 5 massive Sachin Tendulkar records that Virat Kohli has already broken

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Edited by Samya Majumdar
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