The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set an example by clearing the dues of all of its contracted players despite the uncertainty triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused financial blowback in other countries.
It has also said that no one will suffer due to this pandemic. Major cricket boards like England and Australia have indicated that players will have to take pay cuts. The pandemic has taken the lives of almost 95,000 people worldwide.
BCCI not mulling option of pay cut for Indian players amid COVID-19 crisis, says report
“Despite lockdown being announced from March 24, the BCCI was ready for any kind of eventuality. The board clears quarterly installments of central contract payments to its players. Plus the match fees of all those who played for India and India A during this period, all these dues were cleared at the end of the financial year,” a BCCI official told PTI.
The players contracted to ECB and CA openly admitted to facing pay cuts amidst these troubling times, as world cricket has been brought to a grinding halt. The announcement of central contracts has been postponed in Australia, while England skipper Joe Root has applied for furlough along with his Yorkshire teammates.
Under the furlough scheme, the British government pays 80 percent of wages -up to GBP 2,500- per month.
The official opined that the strong financial condition of the BCCI won’t let any of its employees and cricketers suffer in these times.
“One cricket board has put its players on furlough (government assistance scheme). There are talks about pay cuts everywhere. But I believe BCCI is capable of taking good care of its players as it has been all these years. Neither our international nor our domestic cricketers will suffer,” the official said.
The official, however, mentioned that the IPL 13 taking place later this year is a must to maintain that strength in financial position but had no confirmed answer as to when the tournament will start.
“The situation is fluid right now. It can’t be said that it will be September when Asia Cup and home series against England is scheduled or October when World T20 is supposed to take place. If you don’t know when normalcy will return, how can you say that when will IPL happen,” he said.
(PTI inputs)
