April 4, 2017 by admin

Rs 2 cr is peanuts, pay cricketers more: Shastri

Mumbai, Backing the reported demand of the top Indian cricketers for a steep hike in their emoluments, former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri today termed the recent increase in their payments as “peanuts”. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) had doubled the retainers for all contracted players in all three categories (Grade A, B and C) to Rs 2 crore, Rs 1 and Rs 50 lakh, respectively, last month. The board also enhanced the match fees to Rs 15 lakh, Rs 6 lakh and 3 lakh per Test match, ODI and T20I, respectively.
Not satisfied with the revised pay structure, Shastri said, “It’s (what they are getting) nothing, Rs 2 crore is peanuts. How much is an Australian cricketer getting?”
Citing the example of top Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who does not have a contract with any franchise team in the IPL, Shastri said BCCI should ensure that the Saurashtra batsman was not worried over not being part of the T20 league and, thus, missing out on a huge payout. “The grade contracts of a Test player should be the highest. Pujara should be the highest, at par with top players. Your A grade contracts have to be massive,” said Shastri. “A player like Pujara should get a massive amount and should not be bothered whether he plays IPL or not. He will be happy and play two months of county cricket.” Shastri’s support for another steep hike in the players’ fees comes on the heels of the reports suggesting that the players were unhappy with the enhanced pay structure announced by the board. Their contention, according to the reports, is that the cricketers from England, Australia and South Africa were being paid much more by their respective boards.