Virat Kohli likely to take up issues of hike and payment structure when he meets CoA

Team India captain Virat Kohli will take up the issue relating to the hike and the payment structure of the cricketers when he meets the Committee of Administrators (CoA) before the final of IPL in Hyderabad on 21st May. The Indian cricketers were not happy with the payment structure and said it was unscientific and needed to be rectified. The cricketers haven’t been paid their match fees for the last 6 months and Kohli is expected to raise this issue as well.

The Team India players have apparently asked for an increase in the retainership fees and won’t agree to anything less than what they are negotiating for. They are hoping to get on par with the Aussie cricketers who bag something between Rs. 7 to 10 crores.

Currently, the Grade A Indian players get Rs 2 crore of retainers fees and they could be asking for something around 7 crores especially for those who is a part of all 3 formats of the game. An Indian cricketer earns Rs. 15 lakh from a Test match, 6 lakh from an ODI and 3 lakh for a T20I.

The prime issue which has been raised is that cricketers who are not in the scheme of things for Test matches but is a regular member of the limited-overs squad should be paid under one basket and those only playing Tests will bag another set of retainership fees. According to reports from Times of India, players playing in both formats are eligible for payment under both the retainership fees and even if a player gets a hike, they are entitled to be paid separate match fees also.

It is understood that the current management of the BCCI won’t agree to such a big hike without properly understanding the actual dynamics of the payment in the domestic and the junior levels. It is believed that the Test retainership fees might be more than that of the limited-overs format so that a player like Cheteshwar Pujara doesn’t feel that he hasn’t earned enough after the end of his illustrious Test career.

“At the end of his career, Pujara shouldn’t feel that he hasn’t earned enough after playing Test cricket when an IPL contract could see an up coming domestic cricketer making more than him. There has to be a balance,” the board functionary was quoted as saying by TOI.

Kumble to meet CoA

Meanwhile Team India head coach Anil Kumble will also meet the CoA on May 21 and submit an exhaustive report on how the Indian players need to be paid. The CoA will also discuss renewing Kumble’s contract as it ends after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy. The top officials of the BCCI are hopeful that Kumble will continue and he cannot be reprimanded for expressing his view of Team India’s participation in Champions Trophy when BCCI had threatened to withdraw from the upcoming event.