Indian cricketers put revised proposal before BCCI

The group of Indian cricketers who were unhappy with the originally proposed contract system have put forth a fresh set of suggestions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The suggestions, prominent among them being a rationalisation of the retainer fees, were put forward to the board by a senior member of the Indian team. However, it is not clear as of now whether all members of the team have agreed to the new proposals.

The players have recommended that the retainer fees be restructured to Rs50lakh for grade A (a drop of Rs10lakh) Rs35lakh for grade B (an increase of Rs5lakh) and Rs20lakh for grade C (an increase of Rs5lakh). They have also suggested that the match fee for the reserve players be raised to 75% of the fee paid to the playing XI. Under the current system reserves earn 90% of the match fee while the draft contract distributed by the BCCI had proposed to reduce it to 50%.

A section of mid-level players who had misgivings about the proposed gradation structure and wanted it changed to a seniority-based one, have come around to the view that it was best to leave it to a screening committee, comprising the BCCI president, the national coach, the chairman of selectors and the secretary of the board with the captain in consulting capacity.

However, with the team having just left for Sri Lanka to play the Asia Cup, it is unlikely that the fresh contracts, and an agreement document - which needs to be prepared before the contracts are signed - can be redrawn in the immediate future.

A senior board official also hinted that the board was not happy with the fact that the players raised concerns about the proposed contract at the very last moment. The BCCI is now considering asking the players to submit any fresh proposal in writing, duly signed by every member of the 14-man squad that is taking part in the Asia Cup.