India’s Test specialists may soon be rewarded with lucrative contracts after the conclusion of a Board of Control for Cricket in India meeting on Friday. The proposal was initiated by Virat Kohli and former coach Anil Kumble in May to protect the players who feature in only one format of the game, reported Cricketnext.
Kohli’s request to the BCCI was made ahead of the Champions Trophy. The board’s treasurer, Anirudh Chaudhry pitched a renewed plan to prioritise the interests of players who play in only one format of the game.
“Just prior to the Champions Trophy, then head coach Anil Kumble had proposed a pay hike plan for a centrally contracted player that also spoke about the captain getting paid extra for his role as leader. That is when Anirudh spoke to Kohli about the matter as it was hard to believe that a team-man like Kohli would be on the same page as Kumble on the captain getting paid extra for discharging the captain’s responsibility. In fact, Kohli went on to say that every player’s interest should be taken care of, but especially those who play just one format should be priority,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the website.
“Anirudh and Kohli’s thought process definitely match and he has come out with this proposal which not only looks at the interest of players like Cheteshwar Pujara – only plays the Test format – but also of Ranji Trophy players. It is an issue that was also brought up by Harbhajan Singh as he saw the poor pay structure in domestic cricket,” the official added.
Domestic players to benefit too
In addition to Test specialists such as Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, the new proposal is expected to benefit the Ranji Trophy players too. During Kumble’s tenure, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had written to the former asking him to look into the poor pay scale of the domestic players.
There are also talks that are in place for setting up a fund for the Test players. The fear of young cricketers favouring the Indian Premier League over Test cricket was also a concern that will be addressed.
The move can go ahead only if the Supreme Court-ordered Committee of Administrators give their approval.