The ongoing legal and administrative issues in which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently embroiled seems to be directly affecting its cricketers. It has been reportedly been said that the players are yet to see their paychecks after the 13 Test home season which ended last month with the conclusion of the Borer – Gavaskar Series.
A senior member is paid 15 Lakhs per Test. Members of the squad who do not make it to the starting XI also earns 7 Lakhs per Test. India has just concluded playing Tests series against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia before splitting up and moving ahead for the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The members of the Indian women’s cricket team, who get Rs 1 lakh each for every series, are also yet to receive their payments, according to the report.
“Usually, we get our dues within a month or 15 days of a Test match but this time, the delay has been long. We don’t know what the reason is but such delays have never happened earlier,” a regular Team India cricketer was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Understandably, the reason behind this problem is the ongoing hassles BCCI is facing at the moment. The Apex cricketing board in India is currently disputing with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its other members over revenue and administration structure while also dealing with internal issues with the Committee of Administrators (COA).
However, the issue which has delayed the payment of the Indian cricketers is the tussle with the COA. The players seem to unnecessarily struggling to get their dues as the Supreme Court appointed COA and the BCCI office bearers fight over the power of authority. Without the signature of these office bearers and the COA officials, the players’ payments cannot be released.
If other causes which have surfaced are to be believed, one BCCI official has revealed that there is no clarity about who the Indian cricket board’s signatory is in the last few months. If this is the case then the Indian cricketers will have to wait for some more time to see their dues settled. According to the official, the women’s payments are yet to be cleared because the members of the India eves side are yet to sign an agreement with the BCCI.
While the payment issue might have slightly dulled the moods among Indian cricketers, the thorough success achieved the men in the past home season would definitely make them proud.