BCCI to restructure player contracts
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) plans to restructure player contracts on the basis of Test and limited-overs internationals. The idea behind implementing these changes is to set Test cricket as the benchmark for the evaluation of a player's contribution through a season.
BCCI, along with the Committee of Administrators (COA), have already started working out a plan to determine the salaries of all graded cricketers. The main focus is on determining the perks of playing Test cricket.
Despite a phenomenal Test season, Cheteshwar Pujara failed to get an IPL contract while Ravichandran Ashwin missed out owing to fatigue-related injury following a long international season. Contracts will be based on the responsibilities players shoulder for the Indian side.
In the cash-rich IPL, a bowler can bowl a maximum of 56 overs in 14 matches while Ashwin bowled 69.3 overs in the first Test between India and England in October last year. Pujara played 242 deliveries in all and scored 124 and 18 in the same Test which is more than two completed T20 innings.
Effectively, Pujara, labelled a Test specialist, Ā missed outĀ on a huge IPL pay despite his India contribution and the BCCIĀ is trying to find a balance in such cases.
"That connect is what we're trying to find. It's not about hiking salaries but about restructuring contracts with better perspective," BCCI CEO Rahul Johri told the Times of India. "The idea is to differentiate between the red ball and the white ball. There is a different set of dynamics that makes for the IPL but at the same time, there's serious thought being given
The differential payments in the format have prompted BCCI to restructure the contracts and try and normalise the gap between the longer and the shorter formats of the game. The BCCI also plans to further subdivide Grade AĀ and Grade B categories, the specifics of which are yet unclear.
"Sub-categories will have to (be) worked out with the red-ball and white-ball brackets defined. But 26% of BCCI's income which is reserved for cricketers doesn't change. It is within that 26% that redistribution needs to be worked out,"
The BCCI also proposes to hike the match fees in domestic cricket. India coach Anil Kumble is to get a 20% hike from his current pay of Rs 6.5 crores per anum. The support staff's contracts would be limited to 10 months to allow them to participate in the IPL.
Did you know, Anil Kumble also holds the record for getting 10 wickets in a single innings of a test match. He is the second one to do this after Jim Laker.
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