No fee cut for players: Indian board

The Indian board has clarified that the players will earn more than they currently do once the contract system comes into place.

Responding to reports in the media which stated that the match fees would be reduced by about Rs 65,000 (approx US$ 1410), Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's joint secretary, told Press Trust of India: "It's wrong to say that there is a pay cut as any perceived reduction in match fees that is being proposed would be more than compensated by the retainer fees they would be getting annually."

The players currently earn Rs 2,68,000 per Test (US$ 5825) and Rs 2,25,000 per one-day international (US$ 4890). Those figures are likely to come down by Rs 65,000, but the players will also earn retainer fees once the central contracts are put into place. Under that system, players will be slotted into one of three grades, which will fetch them annual amounts of Rs 60,00,000, Rs 30,00,000 or Rs 15,00,000.

So, if a cricketer plays 25 one-dayers and five Tests in a year, his match fees would reduce by Rs 19,50,000 (Rs 65,000 per match). However, if he played so many matches in a year, he would most likely be a grade A or B player, which would mean an annual fee of at least Rs 30,00,000, easily compensating for his reduced match fee.