With a new Ranji Trophy season hardly six weeks away, every single player in the domestic teams are yet to receive their match-day fees for the season 2016-17 that saw Gujarat lifting the trophy in January.
This delay is the direct impact of the decision by Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA), which has blocked funds of all defiant states for not implementing the Justice Lodha panel recommendations.
But, the players, especially the juniors across India who have no other source of income, are feeling the heat and approaching their respective states to take this matter up with the BCCI and COA.
It has to be mentioned here that the Vinod Rai-led COA has made it clear to the state cricket associations that unless and until they implement the reforms and amend their constitutions accordingly, the funds will not flow into their coffers and rather go to players directly.
For example, every state association generally pays a part of the match fee to players, which comes to Rs 10,000, on the morning of the match. This is basically to help players take care of their off-field expenses. This money is reimbursed by BCCI later.
The remaining amount comes to every association after BCCI’s Annual General Meeting, which usually used to be held during in September. With elections likely to be delayed this time around because of the ongoing hearing in Apex court, the players may be forced to play the new season without being paid for the previous one.
DNA has reliably learnt that a few state units including Tamil Nadu did pay their Ranji players from its own coffers. But there are others like Hyderabad and many other smaller states who are completely dependent on BCCI funds and have not paid a single penny to their players.
BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary reacted by saying that “soon money will directly be transferred to players’ account”, but failed to give the exact date. “This matter was taken up during our recent meetings and it was decided to bypass the states and make payment directly to players,” said Choudhary.
When asked about the deadline, Choudhary added that “it should be before the next season starts”.
A senior Delhi player told this paper that “players are all expecting a revised pay structure for the coming year”.
“After the recent presentation, domestic players were expecting a better deal but this news of no funds till date has dampened our spirits,” said the veteran player, adding: “Now, we are hearing that many struggling states are looking for low-budget accommodations for the coming Ranji season. We just hope that richest cricket board in the world would not let this happen us.”
