With no thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, the whole of the cricketing world has come to a standstill. PSL was called-off, every nation has postponed its domestic seasons and even the IPL is in uncertain waters at the moment.
Given that the whole country of India is in a lockdown till April 14 and the Indian government has suspended all air traffic-domestic or international till April 15, the possibility of the IPL taking part this year is getting slimmer and slimmer.
With this uncertainty, the issue of the payment for the players involved in the most popular T20 league in the world has also become apparent. "The system of IPL payments is that 15 percent is paid a week before the tournament starts. 65 percent more is paid during the tournament. The remaining 20 percent is paid within a stipulated time after the tournament ends. The BCCI has specific guidelines. Obviously, no player will be paid as of now," a senior official of an IPL franchise told PTI.
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BCCI Players' body, the Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA), president Ashok Malhotra admitted the economic implications of this can be huge. He feels that even domestic players may have to accept pay cuts if losses run into thousands of crores amid the ongoing lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though BCCI is looking for an alternate window for the tournament to happen, a franchise official mentioned the grim chances. "We will not get any money from the insurance company as a pandemic is not covered in the clause. Each franchise has salary overheads ranging between Rs 75 to 85 crore. How can we pay if there's no action? From English Premier League, La Liga to Bundesliga, players are taking pay cuts. Also, there is no certainty anywhere as to when things will get normal,” franchise official clarified.
The BCCI stands to lose out on 3,000 crore INR if the tournament is canceled. "It's not just the Dhonis and the Kohlis who will be affected. Surely, they would feel the pinch but for many first-timers, the Rs 20, 40 or 60 lakh is serious life-changing money after all the hard work. Hope the BCCI has a plan in place," he said.
BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal clarified that there have been no talks of pay cut as of now. "There has been no discussion at all on pay cuts. IPL obviously is BCCI's biggest tournament. But at this point, it is very difficult to do calculations and estimate losses. The calculations are complex and till office-bearers get together, we can't say anything," Dhumal told PTI.
However, Malhotra feels that one needs to be practical in their thinking at such times. "The BCCI earns its money from cricket. If cricket is not happening, where will the money come from? We have to be sensible here. So, it's not just international cricketers but domestic players will also be affected. It's not the board's fault. This is an unavoidable situation," Malhotra said.
(PTI inputs)
