India's Domestic Cricketers' Salary could be Doubled, could Earn up to Rs 1 crore per year: Report

Domestic cricketers in India are set to receive a wage increase, with the BCCI asking its chairman of selection, Ajit Agarkar, to devise a strategy and to look seriously into this matter. This comes after the board launched the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' last month, which aims to reward the senior men's squad for participating in Test cricket.

According to Cricbuzz, the board believes that domestic cricketers should be paid at least twice as much as they are now, with payscales ranging from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore per year based on the amount of Ranji Trophy matches played during a season.

The report goes on to say that under the existing payment system, a cricketer who has played more than 40 Ranji Trophy matches is paid Rs 60,000 per day, while those who have played 20 to 40 Ranji matches receive Rs 50,000 per day.

On the other side, players who have played 20 Ranji matches receive Rs 40,000 every day.

Domestic matches are the spine of Indian team

If adopted, the decision will be the latest in a series of measures proposed by the BCCI to promote red-ball cricket throughout the country.

In March, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, which aims to "encourage players to engage in the purest format of the sport but also addresses the evolving dynamics of the cricketing landscape, ensuring parity with match fees in other formats and league cricket."

The system began in the 2022-23 season and is an additional reward structure on top of the existing match cost for Test matches, which is fixed at Rs 15 lakh.

Earlier this year, the BCCI instructed players not to miss domestic matches for their teams while not representing India at the international level.

The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team.
~read a statement from the board