Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider a significant increase in the fees for players participating in the prestigious Ranji Trophy tournament. Speaking at an event organized by CHAMPS Foundation, Gavaskar commended the BCCI for implementing the Incentive Scheme following India's triumph over England in the recent Test series.

Expressing his thoughts, the veteran batter emphasized the importance of recognizing the efforts of cricketers competing in the Ranji Trophy, often considered the breeding ground for future international stars.

“That is a wonderful thing by the BCCI to reward those who would be playing, but I would also request the BCCI to ensure that the feeder to the Test team, which is the Ranji Trophy, is also looked after,” Gavaskar said on the sidelines of an event by CHAMPS Foundation, as quoted by India Today.

Furthermore, the ex-India cricketer proposed the idea of doubling or even tripling the fees for Ranji Trophy players, stating that it could potentially reduce the number of withdrawals from the tournament due to various reasons. He highlighted the significance of adequate compensation for players to maintain their commitment to domestic cricket.

“If the Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled, certainly there'll be a lot more people playing the Ranji Trophy, and a lot less pull-outs from the Ranji Trophy, because if the fees of playing a Ranji Trophy match are a good fee, there will be fewer people pulling out for various reasons,” he said.

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Last year, the BCCI raised the prize money for the Ranji Trophy winners to INR 5 crore, with an additional INR 5 crore announced for the Mumbai team by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) following their recent victory over Vidarbha in the final match at the Wankhede Stadium.

My personal opinion is to have Ranji Trophy from October to mid-December: Gavaskar

Additionally, the World Cup-winning cricketer suggested a restructuring of the cricket calendar, proposing to conduct the Ranji Trophy from October to mid-December before commencing the limited-overs tournaments. This, according to him, would ensure the availability of players and minimize the likelihood of withdrawals, especially with the Indian Premier League (IPL) season approaching thereafter.

“My personal opinion is to have the Ranji Trophy from October to mid-December and then bring in the white-ball tournaments. That way, everybody will be available to play except for the ones featuring for India. There will be no real excuse to pull out. With the one-dayers beginning from January, people who are in the IPL can have enough practice from then,” the 74-year-old added.

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