Team India skipper Virat Kohli has demanded a greater share of revenue for the cricketers ahead of the contract talks this week an official said. The top Indian players saw their annual basic deals get increased to $300,000 this year which is double the amount which they used to get earlier. However, the Indian squad who are scheduled to hold talks with the BCCI in New Delhi on Friday wants more especially after the board signed a huge television deal back in September.
BCCI will receive a whopping sum of $2.5 billion from Rupert Murdoch’s Star India Channel to telecast the Indian Premier League from 2018 to 2022. The contract expires on 30th September and salaries will be one of the main negotiating points. A Senior Board official on the condition of anonymity told AFP that “the players want a rise” and Virat Kohli will lead the charge for those talks along with head coach Ravi Shastri.
They will meet Vinod Rai who is the BCCI administrator to discuss on the pay rise and also the cramped Indian schedule which was criticised by Kohli very recently.
“It’s always healthy to be transparent, and that’s what BCCI is trying to be. Kohli and the players are always welcome to put their point across,” the official said.
Rai heads a committee of administrators appointed by India’s Supreme Court to run BCCI affairs and reform the world’s wealthiest cricket governing body.
Currently, the national squad consists of three different grades with Kohli and other top players in Grade A.
“We have modified it and have started a process where we consult the players,” said Rai.
“We had two rounds of consultation and we will do another one just before the Delhi Test,” Rai further added. He also agreed with Kohli’s criticism of packed Indian schedule and will discuss the same with the skipper and the coach. The series against Sri Lanka ends on 24th December and India will directly head to South Africa a couple of days later and are slated to play their opening Test from 5th January.