NEW DELHI – The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasintroduced a new A+ category in the retainer fee structure for it’s topplayers, who will receive a huge pay increase under the new AnnualContracts for the 2017-18 season.
The retainer structure now features four categories – Grade A+, Grade A,Grade B and Grade C – compared to three in previous years.
The uppermost category features five players – skipper Virat Kohli, openingbatsmen Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, pacemen Bhuvneshwar Kumar andJasprit Bumrah – who have been put on a retainer worth 70 million Indianrupees (793,307.37 pounds).
The amount is a significant increase from last year, where players in theuppermost ‘A’ category were handed retainers of 20 million Indian rupees.
“The CoA (Committee of Administrators) was of the view that the performanceand position of Indian Cricket needs to be recognised with the feestructure comparable to the best in the world,” the BCCI said in astatement on Wednesday.
Last year, senior players expressed dissatisfaction with the pay rises theyreceived, leading Vinod Rai, head of the Supreme Court-appointed CoA, toannounce that a further hike would be considered for the current season.
The world’s richest cricket board handed seven players Grade A contractsthis season, including former captain M.S. Dhoni, all-rounder RavindraJadeja and batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who will receive 50 million Indianrupees each.
Top Indian cricketers also receive a match fee for each internationalappearance and many benefit from playing in the lucrative Indian PremierLeague (IPL).
Grade B players, including fast bowler Ishant Sharma and all-rounder HardikPandya, will earn 30 million Indian rupees each while Grade C players willreceive 10 million Indian rupees each.
The CoA, which supervises the operations of the BCCI, said that it hadsanctioned the creation of a Players Revenue/ Compensation EqualizationFund (PR/CEF) to insulate player compensation.
The BCCI will contribute approximately 1.25 billion Indian rupees per annumto the fund. – Agencies