MS Dhoni follows Dravid's footsteps, involved in pay cut

BCCI on Wednesday announced a new contract system and compensation structure for the players. CoA, appointed by the Supreme Court of India, announced BCCI Annual Player Contracts for the period from October 2017 to September 2018. As per the new structure, there are four categories in Indian Men’s team– Grade A+, Grade A, Grade B and Grade C. The A+ category has been introduced for the first time by the board.

Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai has revealed that the idea of introducing a new A+ Contract, by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was that of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. According to Rai, several rounds of discussions were held between himself, Diana Edulji, BCCI chief executive officer Rahul Johri, Kohli, Dhoni, Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma before making the decision.

“This suggestion originated from Virat and MS in the discussions,” he said.

Dhoni does not appear in all formats to be in contention for an A+ contract

“Their logic was this category would have only players featuring in all three formats, players who are in the top-10 rankings,” Rai added. “They wanted a category of pure excellence where you perform and you are rewarded. And hence the players would not occupy a permanent slot in this category because if you don’t perform then you slip down the order.”

This revelation, despite the fact that MS Dhoni himself is not included in the A+ category, is an example of his magnanimity. This isn’t the first time an Indian cricketer has been involved in a pay cut in the recent past. Just weeks ago, Rahul Dravid had made the BCCI reduce his prize money, for coaching India in their triumphant ICC Under-19 World Cup journey. Dravid was keen on receiving the same amount as the rest of the coaching staff and reduced his initial Rs. 50 Lakh by Rs. 25 Lakh.

Players in the top bracket include skipper Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah who will receive Rs. 7 crore annually. The CoA was of the view that the performance and position of Indian Cricket need to be recognized with the fee structure comparable to the best in the world,” the BCCI added in its statement, as reported by DNA.

The statement further read, “The CoA recognizes that the actual income of the BCCI fluctuates on an annual basis depending on the number of home matches Team India (Senior Men) plays. Hence, to insulate the player compensation, the CoA has sanctioned the creation of a ‘Players Revenue/Compensation Equalisation Fund’ (PR/CEF) to which the BCCI will contribute approximately Rs 125 crore per annum from its surplus.”