Kohli wants cricketers wages to be increased by Rs. 3 crores

04/03/2017

Virat Kohli has questioned the amount of money that the Indian cricketers earn as compared to the global standard and has taken the matter to the Committee of Administrators (COA). Anil Kumble had also approached the BCCI to increase the amount of money the cricketers get from the revenue by 26%.

Currently, the grade "A" cricketers earn around Rs 2 crore annually as a retainer fee, while the grade 'B' and grade 'C' cricketers get Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively. Initially, the COA rejected the demand of the players having almost doubled their salaries after being installed by the Supreme Court.

However, according to a report published by FirstPost, after Virat Kohli showed them how lowly Indian cricketers were paid by their board as compared to players from other countries, their stance seems to have softened. Currently, Indian cricketers are ranked fourth after England, Australia, and South Africa as far as the player earnings are concerned.

“Kohli, supported by coach Anil Kumble, argued that while cricketers in England, Australia and South Africa could pick up a purse worth Rs 10-12 crores (inclusive of retainer fee and match fee), a top Indian cricketer would earn a maximum of Rs 4-5 crores (inclusive of retainer fee and match fee),” the official told Firstpost.

"The Indian skipper made it clear it was grossly unacceptable, at a time when the BCCI earned the maximum and was lobbying for a lion’s share from revenues of International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Kohli and his men, along with Kumble, even talked about bonus for the cricketers and how Indian cricketers earned less than some of their counterparts."

The report claims that Kohli has asked for the minimum rack rate of the retainer to be raised to Rs 5 crore for grade 'A' and Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.5 crore for grade "B" and grade 'C' cricketers respectively in both formats of the game. Under the new proposed system, Dhoni, who is only playing limited overs cricket, would be pocket a Rs 5 crore kitty while Cheteshwar Pujara, who is only a part of the Test format, would earn the same amount.

“It is an interesting move, and a well-planned one because Kohli has kept the interests of some of the seasoned campaigners in the side. He has not annoyed anyone, nor he has gone overboard to please some,” the source confirmed.

Keeping in mind the way Kohli and Kumble have gone about their business, the probability of the players getting a hike appears to be high. Also, it looks like the COA are convinced that the BCCI used to distribute money to state associations to buy votes but did little to help the crickets as they proved by doubling the player's salary as soon as they came to power.

However, the source said that nothing had been finalized yet and a final decision would be taken after the IPL.

“It was too premature to comment on the issue. The agenda for the 5 April, 2017, meeting has already been set."

The April 5 meeting has a completely different agenda i.e. to ensure the smooth running of the Indian Premier League.