How Indian cricket has evolved under BCCI secretary Jay Shah

Jay Shah, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, made a notable announcement on Saturday with regards to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match fees for players. He announced that apart from the contract salary, the players
will now receive a match fee of Rs 7.5 lakhs for each game.

This means that a player who plays all matches of the IPL league stage will get a whopping Rs 1.05 crores, apart from their contracted salary.

Shah, who will officially take over as International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman on 1 December, has taken quite a few major decisions in terms of reforming cricket in India. Let’s now take a look at some of those:

Equal match fees

In October 2022, the
BCCI announced equal pay for both men and women who are centrally contracted to the Indian cricket board. Shah had taken to X, formerly Twitter, to make the announcement.

The change in system meant that the women’s cricketers received match fees of Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 6 lakh for an ODI and Rs 3 lakh for a T20I each, which is the same as the men’s cricketers. Women’s cricket in India has grown in terms of popularity since 2017, when India qualified for the final of the Women’s ODI World Cup.

Shah also played a significant role in the introduction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2023.

Domestic player salaries’ increase

In September 2021, the BCCI announced an increase in salary for cricketers in the Indian domestic circuit. As per the revision, since the 2021-22 season, players who played more than 40 domestic matches received Rs 60,000 per matchday, whereas players who played between 21 to 40 matches got Rs 50,000. Players who played less than 21 matches received Rs 40,000.

From 2016 to 2020, a player who was in the playing XI for a Ranji Trophy match would receive Rs 1,40,000 and half that amount if he was on the bench. Players with more than 40 matches gain 71 per cent hike whereas players who have played less than 20 matches get a raise of 14.28 per cent. After players get to 20 caps, they will get Rs 50,000 per day before getting onto the next level.

Monthly pensions increase

The BCCI, under the leadership of then president Sourav Ganguly and Shah, had announced an increase in the monthly pensions scheme for former cricketers (men and women) and former umpires. The hike ranged between 40 per cent and 200 per cent and came into effect from 1 June 2022.

“The welfare of our cricketers, be it former or present, is a top priority, and increasing pension amounts is a step in that direction. The BCCI values the contribution the umpires have made over the years and this is one way to express our gratitude for their diligent services to Indian Cricket. A total of around 900 personnel will get the benefit of the scheme with more than 75% of the beneficiaries getting a 100 % raise,” Shah had announced.

Test Cricket Incentive Scheme

Earlier this year, the
BCCI announced a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme for the India senior men’s team. Under the scheme, should a player feature in more than 75 per cent of Tests during a season, the player’s match fee will increase by a whopping 300 per cent.

“Commencing from the 2022-23 season, the ‘Test Cricket Incentive Scheme’ will serve as an additional reward structure on top of the existing match fee for Test matches, set at INR 15 lakhs,” Shah had said on “X”. This means if a player plays more than 75 per cent matches in a season, he would get Rs 45 lakh per match as a part of the playing XI incentive.

Prize money for junior and senior cricketers in domestic cricket

In August,
Shah announced the introduction of prize money for every Player of the Match award winner and Player of the Tournament winner in  junior-level cricket and women’s domestic cricket.

He also added that prize money would be handed to the Player of the Match in Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. “This initiative aims to recognise and reward outstanding performances in the domestic circuit,” Shah had said.

Revamped NCA in Bengaluru

The construction of a new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago, but the development gradually took place once things returned to normal.

Mr Sanjay Behera (Secretary, OCA) attended the inauguration ceremony of the new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore today. BCCI President Roger Binny, Secretary @JayShah , and several distinguished guests were also present at this event. A major leap for the future of… pic.twitter.com/jDWYZVYbG7

— Odisha Cricket Association (@cricket_odisha) September 28, 2024

The NCA, which will be open to Olympians like Neeraj Chopra, was inaugurated on Saturday in a function that was attended by former cricketers including VVS Laxman.

“The new NCA will feature three world-class playing grounds, 45 practice pitches, indoor cricket pitches, Olympic-size swimming pool and state-of-the-art training, recovery and sports science facilities,” Shah had said.