The Indian team has been on a high off late and has performed exceptionally well in almost all of the series that they have performed in. However, contrary to popular belief, they aren’t paid as highly as some of their other national counterparts in the international arena. India ranks only fourth in the overall pay scale – behind Australia, South Africa and England and Kohli and Kumble sought out to change that scenario.
They demanded that the Indian team salary for Grade A players is increased to Rs. 5 Crore annually for Grade A cricketers, Rs. 3 Crore for Grade B and Rs. 1.5 Crore for Grade C cricketers. The COA official in front of whom the demands were sought responded with a statement, “It was too premature to comment on the issue. The agenda for the 5 April, 2017, meeting has already been set.”
While those in South Africa and Australia earned around 12-13 crores including match fees and retainer fees, the Indian players made just about Rs. 4-5 crores annually which was unacceptable especially as BCCI is the highest governing sports body in the country and received massive pay from the ICC annually.
What MS Dhoni could miss out:
Given that Dhoni plays only limited overs cricket, he could be set to receive just about 5 crores if the demands are met. Players such as Kohli and Ashwin who are constant in all formats could be set to receive up to Rs. 10 crore annually.
