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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly working to increase the payments for the players in the Ranji Trophy, the premier red-ball domestic tournament in the country, just like the new incentive scheme for the Indian Test stars. The efforts from the BCCI come in the wake of the players prioritising the IPL over domestic cricket.
Earlier in March, the BCCI announced the brand new Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, which is “a step aimed at providing financial growth and stability to our esteemed athletes.” They also spoke about how the scheme is going to encourage the players to engage in Test cricket while ensuring match fee parity in other formats and league cricket.
On top of the existing match fee of ₹15 lakh, the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme will allow an Indian player to earn upwards of ₹45 lakh per match if they are named in the Playing XI in seven or more Tests in a nine-match season .
The BCCI official told the Indian Express the following about the prospect of the pay increase for the Ranji players, “After the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, the BCCI is working out how we can reward players who play red-ball Ranji Trophy cricket. The BCCI is planning to increase the match fees to give more importance to red ball cricket.”
Notably, the BCCI currently pays somewhere between ₹40,000 to ₹60,000 per day to the Ranji players as match fees, depending on the number of matches they have played across seasons. For example, if a player participates in all seven group games in a Ranji Trophy season, he can earn around ₹11.2 lakh annually.
