We will have contract system for first-class players, says BCCI President Sourav Ganguly
In a move that could be a game-changer for domestic cricketers, the BCCI president wants to bring in a secured structured payment system just like the annual central contract for the country’s top international cricketers.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Monday hinted that a contract system will soon be in place for the thousands of first-class cricketers in India, providing them a much needed sense of security.
Ganguly had mentioned that the financial health of domestic cricketers was paramount and he wanted to increase their match fees.
In a move that could be a game-changer for domestic cricketers, the BCCI president wants to bring in a secured structured payment system just like the annual central contract for the country’s top international cricketers.
“We will bring in a contract system for first-class cricketers. We (office-bearers) will ask the new finance (sub) committee to prepare a contract system,” Ganguly said.
READ: Ganguly provides update on proposed Day-Night Test against Bangladesh
“It’s just been four-five days and in between there was a Diwali break. It will take about two weeks to assess everything and move forward. There is a lot of work going on,” the BCCI president said.
Currently, a domestic cricketer annually earns around ₹25 to 30 lakh depending on the matches played. The match fee for a first-class game is ₹35,000 per day(excluding the daily allowance) and the domestic cricketers get 13 percent distributed amongst them from the gross revenue earned by BCCI through broadcast rights.
READ: Team India fielding coach declares best ‘Indian fielder of this decade’
However in a big country like India, working out modalities for contract system will be a complex ask as every state has different working mechanism.
Whether the BCCI draws a broad outline for gradation of the players or instructs the state units to do the same, Ganguly is moving in the right direction.