The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a hike in match fees for the domestic cricketers and compensation package to the players affected by the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown. The announcement was made by the board’s general secretary Jay Shah on Twitter. 

According to Shah, domestic cricket players will be paid 50% of the additional match fee as compensation. This comes as the key domestic match, the Ranji Trophy was not held last year in 2020 for the first time in its history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cancellation led to financial distress for many players who reply to the tournament for their compensation.

“Cricketers who participated in 2019-20 Domestic Season will get 50 per cent additional match fee as compensation for season 2020-21 lost due to COVID-19 situation,” BCCI general secretary Jay Shah said in a tweet.

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As far as the match fees raise is concerned, the senior players, who have played 21 to 40 matches will be paid Rs 50,000, while players with experience less than that will be entitled to a remuneration of Rs 40,000 per day, under the revised structure.

Meanwhile, the cricketers under the age of 23 and under-19 category will get Rs 25,000 and 20,000 per day respectively as per the new fees structure.

The decision to release a compensation package along with a hike in match fee was taken during the BCCI’s Apex Council meeting on Monday.

Before the decision, the first XI players in a Ranji Trophy game was entitled to Rs 35,000 per day. For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the BCCI pays Rs. 17,500 per game.

Similarly, the BCCI has also announced revised remuneration for women players in domestic cricket. The senior female players will now be paid Rs 20,000 per match instead of the old Rs 12,500.

Soon after the decision was announced, BCCI and former cricketer Sourav Ganguly expressed his happiness with the decision on Twitter.

“Very happy to have the raise in match fees of domestic players, men and women, passed by the apex council today. They are always the key to India’s success in cricket at the international level,” he wrote.

According to PTI, recommendations to increase the payout were made by a working committee comprising former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, Yudhvir Singh, Santosh Menon, Jaydev Shah, Avishek Dalmiya, Rohan Jaitley and Devajit Saikia.