The fund is unlikely to benefit the three richest cricketing nations: India, Australia and England | Image: Wikimedia commons
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is considering a dedicated fund of at least $15 million for Test cricket that will help boost players’ match fees and address talent migration to lucrative franchise T20 leagues.
The initiative, which was proposed by Cricket Australia (CA), has the support of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who is the favourite to become the next ICC President, and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), according to a report by ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’.
The fund would increase the minimum per-match payment for Test players and cover the cost of sending teams on overseas tours. It would support national boards such as the West Indies that currently struggle to compete with the wages on offer in global T20 competitions.
“The fund would guarantee a minimum trial payment for all players, estimated at $10,000, and pay the costs of overseas tours for countries in difficulty,” the report said.
“It’s fantastic to see some momentum behind the Test match fund,” said CA chairman Mike Baird, who launched the concept in January.
“We need to remove the barriers and encourage Test cricket to be the best of the best. To retain that history and that legacy, which goes along with the new forms of white-ball cricket,” he added.
The fund is unlikely to benefit the three richest cricketing nations (India, Australia and England) as they already offer substantial salaries to their players.
However, the amount of money available for ICC Test cricket is also likely to depend on a dispute with broadcaster Star, the report added.
Star broadcaster wants to renegotiate a 2022 broadcast deal with the ICC and halve its original cost of more than $3 billion.
The BCCI had introduced an incentive scheme for Indian male Test cricketers earlier this year to encourage players to prioritise Test cricket and reward consistent performance in the longest format of the game.
Under the new scheme, a player who plays at least 75 per cent of India’s Test matches in their annual cycle, from October to September, will earn a whopping Rs 45 lakh per match, in addition to Test match fees of Rs 15 lakh.
Players who participate in 50-75 per cent of the matches will receive a bonus of Rs 30 lakh per match. Non-playing members, if selected for the team, will receive half the amount.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 23, 2024 | 12:33 pm IS
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