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[caption id="attachment_45072" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Harbhajan Singh has requested Anil Kumble for increasing the fee stricture of domestic cricket
Image Source: Twitter[/caption] Internet Desk: After retiring from International cricket, Harbhajan Singh has devoted his time in domestic cricket. He has requested the chief national coach Anil Kumble to give a raise in the match fees with the COA. Anil Kumble will be giving a presentation to the Committee of Administrators (COA) about the revised pay structures which includes a large hike on 21st May. According to the new contract, the grades for the Indian cricketers are of Rs 2 crore, Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh. A regular domestic cricketer gets a match fee of Rs 1.5 lakh for a first class game like Ranji Trophy and Duleep trophy. Harbhajan has reportedly written to Kumble about the financial insecurities which the domestic cricketers face nowadays. The letter, accessed by PTI, has Harbhajan making an emotional plea to Kumble. "It's been last 2/3 years (that) I am playing Ranji Trophy. I hate that I've found constant struggle around me in the financial situation of my first-class teammates. Even though Ranji Trophy is hosted by the richest cricket board in the world, I appeal to you as a player, who is an inspiration and role model for all Ranji players," Harbhajan wrote to Kumble. "I request you to please take this up with the top brass of BCCI and players like Sachin, Rahul, Laxman, Viru to ensure that a change is brought about in the pay structure, in the amounts they get paid," Harbhajan wrote. Harbhajan finds it difficult to digest that the Ranji pay structure has not undergone revision for a long time. "I am willing to help/assist in any way to help bring in a change. It's shocking to say the least that the payment system hasn't been changed since 2004. Imagine the value of 100 rupees then and now. It is so different." India's third highest wicket-taker in Tests felt that an average domestic cricketer can't plan his life and investments. "Imagine in today's day and age how can you call yourself a professional if your 'job' doesn't even tell you how much you will earn yearly? How can you sign up and commit your life to a job which doesn't promise you a fixed income every year. And that too, you are paid one year after you complete your work. "The guys can't even plan their future because they don't know whether they would earn Rs 1 lakh or Rs 10 lakh in that year and it leads to huge issues in their lives and families and (affects) state of mind. Anyway, let's try and gently make a change for our brothers," he concluded the letter.