Former India coach bats for steep pay hike for International players
Internet Desk: Former India Team Director Ravi Shastri joined the players demand for a hike in their payment which was announced recently by BCCI. Shastri termed the hike as “peanuts” compared to what the Australian and English players receive from their respective boards.
BCCI recently doubled the retainers for all contracted players to 2 crore, 1 crore and 50 lakhs respectively for the three graded categories A, B and C. The Board which is run by COA also enhanced the match fees to Rs 15 lakh, 6 lakh and 3 lakh per Test match, ODI and T20 International respectively.
Not satisfied with these revised pay structure, Shastri said “It’s (what they are getting) nothing, (Rs) 2 crore is peanuts. How much is an Australian (cricketer) getting?”
Citing the example of Cheteswar Pujara who does not have a contract with any franchise team in the cash-rich IPL, Shastri said the BCCI should ensure that the Saurashtra cricketer is not worried for not being part of the T20 league and, thus, missing out on a huge pay-out.
“The grade contracts of a Test player should be the highest. (Cheteshwar) Pujara should be the higest, at par with top players. The A grade contracts have to be massive,” said the former Indian team director in Mumbai.
“That is the best grade, where an A grade player like Pujara gets a massive amount and is not bothered whether he plays IPL or not. He will be happy and say ‘I can play two months of country cricket’ and go (to England)”, the former Test and ODI all rounder said.
Shastri’s support for another steep hike in the players’ fees comes on the heels of news reports emerging that the players were unhappy even with these enhanced pay structure announced by the Board on March 22.
The players contention, according to the reports, is that the cricketers from England, Australia and South Africa were being paid much more by their respective cricket boards.