Indian cricket team support staff rejects BCCI's salary hike offer

Cricket has changed a lot over the years. Previously there would be just the coach and a few assistants including the physio and others who used to travel with the team but now there is a different squad of support staff altogether. From the batting coach to the physio to a masseur, video analyst everyone is present with the team and travel with them.

The Indian cricket team also has a strong set of support staff. With the former cricketer, Sanjay Bangar also present in the staff which supports the Head Coach Anil Kumble. However, Bangar and co are having certain issues with the BCCI. Last year during the Test series against England, the support staff met with the board officials to discuss their salary hike. They met the then secretary Ajay Shirke and the matter was also discussed with the president of BCCI at the time, Anurag Thakur as well.

Both of them had promised the support staff a 100 percent raise. But as they were relieved of their duties the matter was left unattended until now when the Chief Executive Rahul Johri looked into it. The board decided to offer them a 25 percent hike which was four times lesser than what they had been promised. As a result, the offer has not been accepted by the staff.

As per an Indian Express source, Sanjay has been paid the same amount since his arrival as the batting coach. And the same goes for the other support staff as well.

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“The problem is that a few members of the support staff, such as Bangar, have been there for more than three years now and still they are working for the same salaries they were drawing when they joined. Later, a physio is appointed and he is being paid a similar amount as the two coaches. It has been a case of discrimination and even the Indian team coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli felt that the support staff need a good hike. They were earlier promised that the BCCI will take care of their salary correction, but till date it hasn’t happened. And now with this 25% hike, the support staff is not happy,” the source revealed.

The demand of the support staff is backed by the captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble.