Amid the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that has also affected the sports hugely, South African cricketers’ salaries are safe, as the Cricket South Africa (CSA) has on Tuesday (March 31) confirmed that there is no cut in the pay for the 2020-2021 season.
As the entire world struggles to control the coronavirus outbreak, the deadly virus has also brought the sporting world to a standstill, impacting the staging of almost all sporting events and even the negative impact of this outbreak is already seen with some of the sports teams and organizations around the world being forced to cut players’ salary and staff members.
Well, the CSA acting CEO Jacques Faul on Tuesday has insisted that the CSA has no such immediate plans for its contracted players and even they are currently no thinking of that, but the longer-term prospects for player income is of great concern because of this global pandemic.
However, for now, the Proteas players’ salaries for 2020-21 season will not be affected, but they might see a cut due in the future because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, says Faul.
Faul told local media on Tuesday: “We have budgeted for the amount. It is a centralized system and both the national team and franchise players are budgeted for. At this stage, we will have enough capacity to see us through the season.”
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He added: “But in the long term, even if we cover this season, we will have to look at what the situation is going to be after that and the financial impact it has. In our situation, I cannot see any player getting less money this season, but going forward I can see a situation where players might have to receive less.”
The CSA official has also revealed that they are currently undertaking scenario planning future calculations keeping in mind that no cricket will take place in the next three to six months and the impact the COVID-19 outbreak has on the economy as a whole.
Faul signed off by saying, “How much will be available to pay players (next season)? We need to see the total effect of COVID-19. And of course, players right now miss out on appearance fees and win bonuses. If we have series postponed and they are played at a later date, then they can make it up. If not, that is lost income.”
(With IANS Inputs)
