Former India captain Sourav Ganguly urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider a substantial pay hike for domestic cricketers plying their trade in the Ranji Trophy on Tuesday, reported PTI.
Ganguly brought up the issue during the BCCI technical committee meeting in Kolkata. “Ganguly enquired as to what all issues were raised at Ranji Captain and Coaches’ Conclave in Mumbai. He was informed that all captains spoke about match fee hike in domestic tournament which has been an issue,” said a BCCI technical committee member on the request of anonymity.
“When he was told that an average Ranji cricketer earns Rs10 lakh for a season, he said that it is very less. Dada’s argument was not all domestic players have jobs. Therefore a lot of talented cricketers become insecure if they are injured or out of the team,” the official said.
Ganguly advised the members to seriously think about a substantial hike for the players and members agreed.
It was senior India off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who first wrote a letter to former coach Anil Kumble to bring the issue to notice. There is a possibility that BCCI will hike match fees as they are expecting a windfall from IPL broadcast rights.