This Is Why MS Dhoni May Be Affected By The Pay Pitch Put Forward By Anil Kumble And Virat Kohli

Indian cricketers being awarded top-grade contracts on the basis of experience, form and reputation could be a thing of the past if Indian captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble have their way.

BCCL

Through a joint presentation to Committee of Administrators (CoA) and BCCI in Hyderabad on Sunday, Kohli, via video conference, and Kumble proposed a new three-tier gradation payments system with Test players being paid the highest followed by One-day International and T20 players.

Sources said the proposal would entail a hike of over 150% from the current Grade-A payments of Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore. While the finer points need to be tabled, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the elite status of former Test captain M S Dhoni, since he only now plays only limited overs cricket.

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Whether MSD would be made an exception if the new system is approved, remains to be seen. The board SGM could discuss the proposal on May 26. Under the existing gradation, Grade A players get Rs 2 crore, Grade-B players earn Rs 1 crore while Grade C players make Rs 50 lakh. The contract is exclusive of match fees, which is Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 7 lakh for ODI and Rs 3 lakh for a T20 game.

Sources told TOI that in the team management's pitch, a player like Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who doesn't figure in ODIs and T20s, would be paid more because the Test gradation category carries a bigger valuation.

Through this system, those international cricketers playing only shorter formats will not earn as much as Kohli or R Ashwin, who figure in all three formats. It is also learnt that Kumble mooted a hike to the tune of 30% for himself, making his salary rise to close to Rs 8 crore from the current Rs 6 crore. The Indian coach also proposed a 50% hike for the support staff.

Sources indicated that the CoA is on the same page with the senior cricketers who have the backing of the top board officials. The board also made it clear that the players won't be paid more than 26% from the BCCI's gross profit from home matches and ICC events.

ALSO READ: Anil Kumble Wants A Hike For Grade A Players And Guess By How Much? By One Hundred And Fifty Per Cent!

BCCL

The BCCI functionary also said that if the board made more from ICC's income, the players' share would go up significantly. Sources then added that both Kohli and Kumble also suggested a new formula for distribution, which both CoA and board officials would debate in the days to come.

However, it also understood that Kohli, who makes around Rs 4.8 crore, won't benefit much from the new proposed contact, being unable to match the likes of Australian cricketers like Steve Smith and David Warner who make around Rs 7 crore and 10 crore respectively.

"Ultimately, the money which Kohli makes can't go up by several folds. From Rs 4.8 crore, it can become Rs 5.5 to 6 crore maximum. Under the current system, it can't be changed. If the Indian cricketers are looking to make money like the Australian cricketers, they would have to forgo their individual contracts from where they make lot of money," a BCCI source said while adding that 60 per cent money earned by BCCI through IPL is given back to the IPL teams from which they pay it back to the Indian cricketers.

There is an apprehension that BCCI may not get a huge hike from broadcaster rights of home matches when it is up for renewal next year. There is a section in the BCCI which believes that if the board would have got its share according to the Big Three formula from ICC - India cricketers could have made Rs 7 to Rs 9 crore.

ALSO READ: Looks Like The Indian Players May See A Pay Hike As BCCI Will Consider Their Demands For More Money

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"Still, you can't be paid like the Australians because our pool of cricketers is huge and when you talk about compensations, you have to keep the others in mind," a BCCI functionary explained.

"The ones who are at the domestic levels including the junior cricketers may lose out at the cost of the seniors. But CoA is certainly going to work-out a win-win situation for all. But the cricketers shouldn't expect a very drastic change in their payment mode," the source added.