The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly thinking about tripling the match fees for Test and first-class matches to incentivise red-ball cricket for players as well. As per the reports of The Times of India, the board has also decided to discuss with captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar for the same.
The development came after BCCI’s release of new contracts for 2023-24 which didn’t add Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. Both players were under the scanner for missing the Ranji Trophy. While Ishan had asked for a break from cricket last year but was practicing in Gujarat, Shreyas told his team he had a bout with a back spasms, even though the National Cricket Academy (NCA) declared him fit as well.
“The recommendations are on the lines of increasing the Test match and first-class fees by three times,” TOI quoted a BCCI source as saying. “The idea is that if a player plays the entire Ranji Trophy, he should be able to make around Rs 75 lakhs which matches an average IPL contract. It has also been suggested that if a player plays all Test matches in a year, he should be able to make Rs 15 crores which is at par for any marquee IPL contract.”
“The board may not agree to increasing the remuneration by three times at one go but they are considering meeting the players at mid-point. Even that should be a hefty raise. This is why the board has not announced the value of contracts. The board will have to decide if it wants to raise the match fees or make specified contracts accordingly,” the source further added.
However, currently, playing the Ranji Trophy for the entire year gives players a renumeration of around ₹25 lakh, which is just above the base price in IPL auctions. The fee for each Test, meanwhile is, ₹15 lakh as well. The report said that the BCCI feels the quality of Ranji Trophy has dropped in recent years, with several players opting out of the competion, which has affected India’s Test squad as well.
“This [Test cricket] is the toughest format,” Rohit Sharma said after India won the fourth Test against England in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. “And if you want success and want to excel in this tough format then you need that hunger. It is very important. We will give opportunity only to players who have that hunger. You come to know [easily] the players who don’t have that hunger, [or] players who don’t want to stay here [and play this format]. We come to know that.”
