New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' for the senior Indian men’s team following their scintillating innings win against England at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
The scheme adds a reward structure on top of the existing match fee for red-ball matches to help the financial growth of cricketers who prioritise Test cricket.
As per the statement released by BCCI, assuming India plays atleast nine matches in a season, those players who don't feature in a minimum of 50% or less than four Test matches in a season will not be eligible for the updated match fees decided by the board.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced the commencement of the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme on X(formerly Twitter). "I am pleased to announce the initiation of the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' for Senior Men, a step aimed at providing financial growth and stability to our esteemed athletes. Commencing from the 2022-23 season, the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' will serve as an additional reward structure on top of the existing match fee for Test matches, set at INR 15 lakhs."
Players who will take part in five or more Tests will be given the incentive of ₹30 lakh per match for getting selected in playing XI while players who don't feature in the list will get ₹15 lakh per match. Players who play more than seven matches (more than 75%) will be given an incentive of Rs 45 lakhs per match on being included in playing eleven or ₹22 lakh per match if not included in playing eleven.
This move sheds light on the board's commitment to preserving and valuing the longest and the toughest format of the game. The board has in recent weeks urged players to play more red-ball cricket, be it at the international or domestic level, observing that many players have started to prioritise league cricket (IPL) over the longest format of the game.
After thrashing the visitors in the fourth Test, skipper Rohit Sharma expressed that players valuing and showing hunger for Test cricket will be given preference to don the whites.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, skipper Rohit said, "It is not for just a few cricketers, it is for everyone to make sure that whenever you're available, and fine, you should be able to play domestic cricket."
"There has been talk about this for a long, long time. That when the players are available, they've got to make themselves available to play domestic cricket, unless they have been given a certificate from the medical group that they want to be rested or will not be taking part in domestic cricket, but if you are available, if you are fit, if you're fine, it is important that we go and play that."
"The BCCI has recommended that all athletes give precedence to participating in domestic cricket during periods when they are not representing the national team," the Board had said.
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