Reports | BCCI set to formalize central contracts for domestic cricketers

Almost one year after BCCI President Sourav Ganguly spoke about introducing a central contract system for domestic cricket, and also spoke about giving all domestic cricketers a pay hike, the BCCI is finally set to introduce formalized central contracts for domestic cricketers across the country. The move, should it go through, will come as a boon for a plethora of domestic cricketers, whose paychecks are currently uncertain owing to the Covid-19 pandemic putting the entire Indian domestic season in jeopardy.

The players, as things stand, get paid on a day-by-day and match-by-match basis besides the Gross Revenue Share (GRS) but a centralized contract system would mean that cricketers would not have to worry about getting paid per appearance. A BCCI official has confirmed to TOI that the contract system will be facilitated through the state associations.

"The contract system is likely to be facilitated through the state associations. There's an idea to send a proforma to the state associations and they will need to follow the standard procedure to implement the contracts," a BCCI source told TOI.

The official also said that the board is keen on introducing a ‘standard gradation system’ as, otherwise, state associations taking up matters in their own hands might lead to things going haphazard.

"There needs to be a standard gradation system. It will be unfair if all states come up with varying criteria. It also needs to be discussed if the match fees will be exclusive of the contract.”

The board, as per the report, is planning to introduce the system as early as late-August/early-September and, along with it, is also reportedly planning to have fruitful discussions surrounding the match fees of women’s domestic cricketers.

A veteran domestic cricketer, speaking to TOI, meanwhile feared that the truncated domestic season could see the salary of non-IPL players get halved. 

"BCCI had promised a significant raise in our earnings. But with the season set to be truncated this year, our earnings will be halved if there isn't a hike," a veteran domestic cricketer told TOI on Tuesday.