Veteran scorers request BCCI to look into the matter of their 'retirement benefits'

Often in cricket, the players hog the majority of the limelight leaving the other underrated ones like the umpires, groundsmen, and scorers with very little news whatsoever. At least a good umpire might still walk away with laurels, but the scorers end up getting little or no recognition.

Those people who keep a note of the Virat Kohli’s the Sachin Tendulkar’s and Kapil Dev’s numbers have literally gone unnoticed. The task of the scorers is very difficult and mentally draining as they have to be on their toes 24×7 when the match is going on. They stand tall in harsh climates and unfavorable conditions knowing very little appreciation comes along the way.

Now, recent news has surfaced that around 17 of them have appealed in unison to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly seeking some sort of “retirement benefits” once they attain retirement at the age of 55. This initiative was taken by veteran Mumbai Cricket Association scorer Vivek Gupte, who on behalf of the rest of the 17 scorers across the country, has requested Ganguly via e-mail for helping the not such privileged section of Indian cricket’s eco-system.

“While we were requesting BCCI to increase the retirement age of the scorers, which requires much lesser physical exhaustion, the BCCI has now upped the umpires’ age limit from 55 to 60 years,” Gupte lamented during a chat,” as quoted by the TOI.

“In our request mail, we had also mentioned that all these “Retired” scorers are senior scores who are also into the activity of scoring for about three decades.”

The silent and underrated scorers’ deserve respect and monetary benefits

Currently, the scores who fall under BCCI get 10,000 per match day but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has significantly fallen down with BCCI not arranging any red-ball matches last season due to the deadly virus. However, those who have retired recently, have been hit hard, as per the BCCI policy, who have struggled to meet ends for not having a plan B.

“When we started scoring the payments were meager- as less as Rs 50/- per day. The senior scorers have given their lifeline and everything to this rather neglected activity, without much expectations- be it monetary or name or fame,” Gupte said in his mail.

He concluded in his mail by further mentioning that the scorers deserve some benefits since they have toiled valiantly just because of their passion for the game.