The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considered the most powerful cricket board in the sport. However, the fascinating story that has come is that the richest cricket board in the sport has not paid its star players for the last 10 months. The 27 players who are contracted with BCCI are yet to receive their first of the quarterly instalments. The amount is due since October last year.
The board has also not distributed match fees for the two Tests, nine ODIs and eight T20 games. It is with regards to the matches that the Men in Blue have played since December 2019.
The total amount that is due to the contracted players in Rs 99 crore. The payment is obviously divided on the basis of grading. While Grade A+ cricketers Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah get Rs 7 crore on a yearly basis. The other regulars in grades A, B and C get Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively. The match fees for each Test, ODI and T20 are Rs 15 lakh, Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh with respective to the grading system.
The last balance of BCCI shows that the board had cash and bank balance of Rs 5,526 crore, as of March 2018. This is including Rs 2,992 crore in fixed deposits. In April 2018, the Indian board five-year broadcasting deal with Star TV worth Rs 6,138.1 crore.
What Sources Told The Indian Express?
Still, eight contracted players with the BCCI have not received their dues in the last 10 months. “These crucial administrative positions have not been filled after the contract of the previous functionaries weren’t extended by the present dispensation.”
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, too, have exhausted their tenure, as per the Board’s Constitution. The Indian board has approached the Supreme Court for annulling the ‘cooling-off’ clause in the Constitution. This is so that both can keep their positions intact.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior India cricketer said the board asks to submit an invoice for dues every three months. That is the standard procedure.
What A Senior Cricketer Said On The Condition Of Anonymity?
“But this time, we have not heard from them since the new list of contracted cricketers was announced. The BCCI used to pay the contract money in four instalments but now we do not know when the payment will come. There is no clarity. Last month, we were asked to raise the invoice for the New Zealand tour in February. The money has not been credited yet.”
The payment of first-class and domestic players have also been delayed. Several domestic players from Jharkhand, Mumbai, Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Pondicherry, Baroda, Railways, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh told The Indian Express that a full settlement with the board has not been met till now.
This is rather ironic. Known for its stature, it is totally a shocker. The BCCI is the richest board in world cricket. Holding back the pay of some of these young players makes no sense. The issues need to be resolved soon. It will be interesting to see what happens in this saga next.
