In 2019, Sourav Ganguly stated that his “biggest priority” while presiding over the apex body of Indian cricket would be to safeguard domestic players’ financial health. The BCCI has announced substantial pay hikes for men and women players at its recent apex council meeting. As per the new pay slabs which will become effective in 2021-22, senior men will earn a daily wage of INR 40,000 to 60,000, while senior women can expect to get INR 20,000 per day.
| New Pay Scales for 2021-22 Season Announced for Cricketers by BCCI | |
| Category | Daily Wage |
| Senior Men | INR 40,000 – 60,000 (USD 540 to 810 approx.) |
| Senior Women | INR 20,000 (USD 270 approx.) |
| Men’s U-23 | INR 25,000 (USD 340 approx.) |
| Men’s U-19 | INR 10,500 (USD 142 approx.) |
| Men’s U-16 | INR 7,000 (USD 95 approx.) |
| Women’s U-23, U-19, U-16 | INR 10,000 (USD 135 approx.) |
SubcomContents
Subcommittee Formed by BCCI to Devise New Pay Structure
onths ago, a subcommittee was formed by the BCCI to devise a new pay structure, including compensations for players adversely affected financially since March 2020, in the wake of the pandemic.
CompenCompensation for Curtailed 2019-2020 Season
CI has announced a “compensation” of 50% of match fees for the 2019-20 season, wherein the senior men were able to play only the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy.
More EMore Experienced Players to Earn Higher Average Pay
s in category one (fewer than 20 matches) will get a relatively small hike, while more experienced players (who play more than 40 matches) will get almost double their current pay packet. Those who feature in 21 to 40 matches can expect to earn INR 50,000 per day. Before the pay hike, senior men’s players got about INR 35,000 a day for one day and first-class matches, while earning about INR 17,500 for every T20. The proposed pay hikes will be applicable to both limited overs and first-class cricket.
Contents
Compensation for Curtailed 2019-2020 Season
CI has announced a “compensation” of 50% of match fees for the 2019-20 season, wherein the senior men were able to play only the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy.More EMore Experienced Players to Earn Higher Average Pay
s in category one (fewer than 20 matches) will get a relatively small hike, while more experienced players (who play more than 40 matches) will get almost double their current pay packet. Those who feature in 21 to 40 matches can expect to earn INR 50,000 per day. Before the pay hike, senior men’s players got about INR 35,000 a day for one day and first-class matches, while earning about INR 17,500 for every T20. The proposed pay hikes will be applicable to both limited overs and first-class cricket.
Senior women players who were earlier paid INR 12,500 for every one-day game and INR 6250 for each T20 game can expect to earn INR 20,000 if they are in the playing eleven and INR 10,000 if on the bench. Unlike senior men, senior women do not play in any first-class competition.
Pay UpPay Upgrade Offered to Age-Group Players
217;s U-23 players in the playing eleven who were earlier paid INR 17,500 will now get INR 25,000 per day. Those in the reserves who were earlier paid INR 8750 per day will now get INR 12,500. U-19 players in the playing eleven who earlier got INR 10,500 will now be paid INR 20,000 per day, while reserve players who earlier earned INR 5250 per day will now get INR 10,000. U-16 players in the playing eleven will earn INR 7000, increased from INR 3500, while reserve players will get a pay of INR 3500, hiked from INR 1750.
Women players in the U-23, U-19, and U-16 categories can earn INR 10,000 (up from the earlier INR 5500) if in the playing eleven. Those in the reserves will be paid INR 5000, up from INR 2750 that was paid earlier.
GRS BoGRS Bonus Payments
2017-18, the BCCI paid domestic players in two instalments, consisting of a flat fee per match and a bonus payment that the BCCI calculated as a percentage of the cricket board’s gross revenue share (GRS). The GRS includes the BCCI’s earnings other than from the IPL, including series sponsorship rights, apparel sponsorship rights, team sponsorship rights, and media rights, among other things. The BCCI would pay the bonus amount in the succeeding year after ratification of the accounts at the AGMs.
Since 2018, the BCCI has been adding the GRS bonus component to the match fees, resulting in a hike of almost 200% for every player. However, owing to the pandemic, no AGMs were held in 2019 and 2020. Consequently, there was no ratification of the GRS bonus component, leaving domestic cricketers gruntled. Things became even worse owing to the pandemic.