EXPLAINED: What does BCCI’s Test Cricket Incentive Scheme mean for players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav? | Cricket News

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced a new ‘Test cricket incentive scheme’ for its players. The reason for this move is to reward players who prioritise red-ball cricket. BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed that the benefits of the scheme will reach out to players like Cheteshwar Pujara, who aren’t part of any IPL franchise and they will benefit from playing Test cricket.
What is the Test cricket incentive?
The basic idea of this scheme is that players should be paid more for playing Test match cricket. With this, non-IPL contracted players now can earn a decent amount playing Test cricket. Players who play less than 50% of matches in a season will be eligible for just the match fees which is Rs 15 lakh. Those who are part of the squad for more than 50% of the matches, will additionally get Rs 30 lakh (if in the playing XI) and Rs 15 lakh (non-playing XI). For players featuring in more than 75% of the squads the equivalent incentives are Rs 45 lakh and Rs 22.5 lakh respectively.
Who will benefit from these incentives?
The BCCI has decided to start its scheme from the 2022-’23 season, when India played six matches. So those who featured in fewer than 3 matches, won’t be eligible for the incentives. For example, Pujara played all six Test matches in the 2022-’23 season, and he will be paid 15 lakh rupees per Test as match fees and will be paid 45 lakh rupees per game as an incentive. This means Pujara will earn Rs 3.6 crores for that particular season. Umesh Yadav, who played 4 Tests in 2022-’23 season and was part of the squad for all six Test matches, will be eligible to get the non-playing incentive of Rs 22.5 lakh for two of those matches and Rs 45 lakh for the rest four. The total comes to Rs 3.15 crore.

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… pic.twitter.com/Rf86sAnmuk
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) March 9, 2024
What made the BCCI come up with this incentive?
After players like Ishan Kishan-Shreyas Iyer decided not to play Ranji Trophy and instead began to prepare for IPL cricket, the BCCI and team management felt that it was high time players who turned up for red-ball cricket should be rewarded monetarily. Top players of the current Indian team too had earlier requested the BCCI to look into the pay structure of Test cricket as there is a big gap between IPL pay and Test pay, which the Board felt so as well.
What is the current pay structure players earn from BCCI?
BCCI pays Rs 15 lakh per Test match (non-playing 7.5 lakh), Rs 6 lakh per ODI (Rs 3 lakh for non-playing members) and Rs 3 lakh per T20Is (Rs 1.5 lakh for non-playing members) as match fees. Besides fees earned per match, a group of players are centrally contracted which comes with a retainer. Grade A+ gets Rs 7 crores, Grade A gets Rs 5 crores, Grade B Rs gets 3 crores and Grade C is for Rs 1 crore.