National selector paid a staggering amount despite being fired from office

Last year, around the same time the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its decision to remove Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Khoda from the senior selection panel. The decision was taken in accordance with the Lodha committee recommendations which did not allow non-Test cricketers to be national selectors. Accordingly, both the selectors, who have only played ODIs for the country, had to leave the panel which was then pruned to three.

However, in a recent development, the BCCI revealed that it has paid Paranjpe for the lull period as his contract ran till September 2017. The former national selector was paid to the tune of Rs 43.20 lakh as professional fees from February to September — a period during which he was no longer in charge. Confirming the news, the Board also recently uploaded on its website in the payments above Rs 25 lakh section that Paranjape has been remunerated for the non-working period.

According to Sportstarlive, a senior BCCI official privy to the developments revealed, “Yes, Paranjpe has been paid Rs 43.20 lakh as professional fees for that period because a selector’s contract runs till September of each year when the Annual General Meeting is held.”

The official added, “Now it wasn’t Paranjpe’s fault that he had to quit the panel. So for the seven month period, we had to pay him despite not procuring his services. It was a case where his livelihood was getting affected when it was not his mistake.”

State associations and cricketers earn too

The state associations like CAB and DDCA have been paid Rs 2.90 crore each for hosting Test matches during the Sri Lanka home series. Cricketers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma were paid Rs 83.68 and Rs 75.97 lakh respectively for the away tour of Sri Lanka. Cheteshwar Pujara was paid to the tune of Rs 66 lakh while Yuvraj Singh was paid Rs 35.45 lakh for the tour of West Indies.