This The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended on a high note. In the IPL final on Sunday, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a one-sided match to win the trophy. The KKR team, which won the IPL title for the third time, received a prize money of Rs 20 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s dream of winning the title was shattered, but the team received a prize money of Rs 13 crore for becoming the runner-up. If the fees paid to players in the IPL are seen, then that too is enough to make one rich. By the way, Mitchell Starc was the most expensive player this season. This Australian player was bought by KKR for Rs 24.70 crore. By the way, when players are auctioned, Indians are in the news. Teams are eager to add them to their team by paying them crores and lakhs. Not only this, players playing international and domestic cricket in India are in great demand. But do you know that it was not always like this for cricketers. There was a time in the 40s when Indian cricketers used to get one rupee for playing a Test match.
First I got one rupee and then five rupees
Madhav Apte, who played for the Indian team in the 40s, had said in a function to mark the completion of 75 years of BCCI that when the Indian team played in the 40s, Indian cricketers used to get one rupee for playing one Test match. This amount was also given as laundry allowance so that they could keep their white uniforms clean. Later this amount was increased to Rs 5 per Test match. At that time they used to travel by train and not by plane. Then the match fee was increased to Rs 5. Around 1955 Indian cricketers started getting Rs 250. Many times BCCI did not even have money to pay match fees to the cricketers.
Travel by train and stay in modest hotels
Cricketers used to travel by train then. They were put up in ordinary hotels. Now, on the contrary, players travel by plane. They stay in five-star hotels. Till the 70s, Indian cricketers used to get around two thousand rupees for every match. In the 80s, the fee per Test match reached five thousand to ten thousand rupees.
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The contract system made him rich
The match fees of the players kept on increasing continuously, but Big money started coming into the players’ accounts when BCCI implemented the cricketer contract system for the first time on October 1, 2004. Then the grade system was offered to 17 top players of the country. Seven cricketers including Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were given A grade. Seven got B grade and three got C grade.
Then the amount offered in each grade was
Grade A – Rs 50 lakh
Grade B – Rs 35 lakh
Grade C – Rs 20 lakh
Along with this, the match fees given to cricketers at that time were like this
Test matches – Rs 2 lakh (Rs 2.4 lakh overseas)
One-day – Rs 1.6 lakh (Rs 1.85 lakh abroad)
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Then he started getting 7 crores in the contract
With time, BCCI also increased the contract system. It was decided to give A+ special grade to some cricketers based on their performance and position. Under this, cricketers are being paid Rs 7 crore annually. The salary was increased more than three times.
Grade A Plus – Rs 07 crore
Grade A – Rs 05 crore (amount in previous contract was Rs 02 crore)
Grade B – Rs 03 crore (Amount in previous contract was Rs 01 crore)
Grade C – Rs 01 crore (in previous contract amount was Rs 50 lakh)
Apart from this, a cricketer starts getting Rs 15 lakh for playing Test matches and Rs 6 lakh for playing one-day and T20 matches.
Now you get 45 lakhs per test!
BCCI has increased the test fees this year to increase the interest of young players towards test cricket. Players who play more than 7 tests in each season will be given up to Rs 45 lakh per match. Earlier, Indian cricketers were given Rs 15 lakh for playing one test. In such a situation, cricketers who play regular test matches will get a big benefit under the new scheme. Especially those cricketers who play only test cricket. If a cricketer plays 4 or less tests in a season, then he will not be given anything other than a fixed payment. Whether he is in the playing 11 or not. If a cricketer plays 5 to 6 matches in a season, then he will get Rs 30 lakh if he is in the playing 11. If he is not in the playing 11, then he will get Rs 15 lakh. If a cricketer plays more than 75 percent of the matches in a season i.e. at least 7 tests, then he will be given Rs 45 lakh per test if he is in the playing 11 and Rs 22.5 lakh per match if he is not in the playing 11. This is the reason why today every youth of the country aspires to become a cricketer.
Tags: BCCI Cricket, Indian Premier League, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Test cricket
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 28, 2024, 08:02 IST