BCCI double Indian Test cricketers’ wages

With the Justice Lodha committee breathing down the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with their massive amounts of recommendations, Anurag Thakur, the president of the board has revealed that the board has doubled the wages of the players who are exclusively playing Test cricket for India. This is a relatively short list of players that includes the likes of Murali Vijaya and Cheteshwar Pujara.

The BCCI has also reportedly escalated the annual subsidy for its full members to between 60 and 70 Crores. The meeting held also saw reports considering the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Report and whether they would be left with no choice but to consider and perhaps even implement the Lodha recommendations.

The working committee also stressed on the agenda of the upcoming Champions Trophy in England. In 2013, the Indians had clinched their first ever Champions Trophy by beating England in the final of the tournament at Edgbaston, match that was marred by rain and subsequently converted into a Twenty 20 encounter.

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The working committee of the BCCI also stressed upon their request to the ICC not to draw them and cross country rivals Pakistan in the same group. The ICC had revealed earlier that they had intentionally put the Indians and the Pakistanis in the same group in a bid to generate revenue through television viewership. A recent survey showcased that the India v Pakistan match at these tournaments was perhaps the most viewed match of the lot.

However, the main takeaway from the meeting was the escalation of the budget for the increase in the salaries of Test cricketers, something that Anurag Thakur felt was more than required to do. “I have always maintained that we need to do more for Test cricket and cricketers both, and this is the first step in that direction,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur said on Friday evening.

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