BCCI hikes match fee to Rs 45 lakh from existing Rs 15 lakh for red-ball cricket

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday announced a remarkable scheme, Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, under which it hiked an additional fee per Test match to Rs 45 lakh from the exiting Rs 15 lakh. The incentives are for players who play more than 75 per cent of the Tests in a season for India. At present, each Test cricketer is paid a Rs 15 lakh match fee. The incentive has been declared to encourage players to prioritise Test cricket and reward players who have played good cricket over a period of time. An additional payout of Rs 40 crore has been allocated by the BCCI per season for the scheme.

Even those players who were not in the playing XI in the said bracket will receive Rs 22.5 lakh as additional match fee per match, as per the new scheme.

"I am pleased to announce the initiation of the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' for Senior Men, a step aimed at providing financial growth and stability to our esteemed athletes. Commencing from the 2022-23 season, the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' will serve as an additional reward structure on top of the existing match fee for Test matches, set at INR 15 lakhs," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in his post on social media.

Last month, BCCI brought in a directive that asked Indian cricketers ‘to give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team’.

Last month, BCCI dropped Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were members of India’s ODI World Cup squad, for 2023-24. The list of 30 men’s cricketers was announced by the BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday. “Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were not considered for the annual contracts in this round of recommendations,” Shah stated.

While BCCI did not specify the reason, the administration, team-management and the selection panel have been extremely unhappy with Kishan and Shreyas over their reluctance to participate in the Ranji Trophy.