BCCI to formalise contracts for domestic players

Earlier this week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that they are considering November 19 as a tentative date for the commencement of the domestic season. The board is also working towards the standardisation of a structure to provide contracts for domestic players.

Speaking to TOI, the BCCI source confirmed that the contract scheme is likely to be adopted before the start of the domestic season. "The contract system is likely to be facilitated through state associations. There's an idea to send a proforma to the state associations and they will need to follow the standard procedure to implement the contracts," a BCCI source was quoted as saying to TOI. 

A set of proforma would be sent to all the state cricket associations and they will need to access the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the enforcement of the player contracts. The BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly, had earlier stated to TOI that the board would standardise pay hike for all the domestic players. This recent development comes at a juncture when many domestic cricketers are concerned about the prospect of a truncated domestic season, which could also result in a loss of a significant portion of their income.

"BCCI had promised a significant raise in our earnings. But with the season set to be truncated this year, our earnings will be halved if there isn't a hike," a senior domestic player told to TOI.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament will kick off India's domestic season, which is expected to begin on November 19. With the BCCI reinforcing changes to the structure, it will be interesting to see how the domestic season shapes up. 
 

[With inputs from TOI]