BCCI announces Test Cricket Incentive Scheme for India men after 4-1 win over England in Dharamsala | Cricket News

BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced the commencement of a Test Cricket Incentive Scheme for the senior Indian men’s team following their thumping innings win against England at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday.India wrapped up the series 4-1 with an innings and 64-run annihilation of the visitors before Shah announced the scheme which will serve as a financial boost for the players in the Test team.
“Commencing from the 2022-23 season, the ‘Test Cricket Incentive Scheme’ will serve as an additional reward structure on top of the exing match fee for Test matches, set at INR 15 lakhs,” Shah wrote on X.

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
According to the structure proposed, players who have featured in the playing XI of more than 50 percent of Tests in a season since 2022-23, are set to witness their match fees double per game with the BCCI announcing a total Rs. 40 crore corpus for the scheme. According to the table provided Shah, a player who plays 5-6 to six Tests in a nine-match season, will receive INR 30 lakh per match as opposed to the regular 15 lakh per match. The salary will double from 22.5 lakh per match to 45 lakh for every player who features in at least 75 percent of matches in a cycle.
As reported The Indian Express earlier, it is learnt that the board decided to redraft the salary structure in the wake of wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan ignoring the team management’s calls to play domestic cricket, and instead opting to prepare for the IPL that begins next month.
The push for the move and importance of Ranji Trophy cricket was also echoed India captain Rohit Sharma recently. “Jin logon ko bhookh hai, hum unhi logon ko mauka denge (We will give opportunities to only those who are hungry),” Rohit said after the Ranchi Test.
“Test cricket is the toughest format. If you want to excel and achieve success in this format, you have to show the hunger.”
“Yeh pata chal jata hai kisko bhookh nahin hai aur kin logon ko yahan pe rehna nahin hai. Yeh pata chalta hai. Jo logon ko bhookh hai, tough conditions mein khelna hai, un logon ko preference diya jayega. (It becomes apparent who is not hungry and who does not want to stay here. Those who are hungry, who want to play in tough conditions, will be given preference). It’s very simple,” he said.
“IPL is a very good format for us, but this is the toughest format and difficult to excel. You have to work hard to win…the last three wins didn’t come easy, bowlers had to do long spell, batsmen had to grind it out. It’s tough,” he added.

The Ranji Trophy semi-finals have been riveting! @MumbaiCricAssoc’s march into the finals was aided a brilliant batting recovery, while the other semi-final hangs in the balance going into the last day – Madhya Pradesh need 90+ runs to win, Vidarbha need 4 wickets.…
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 5, 2024
India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had also highlighted the importance of Ranji matches following Mumbai’s semifinal win over Tamil Nadu last week. “The Ranji Trophy semi-finals have been riveting! @MumbaiCricAssoc’s march into the finals was aided a brilliant batting recovery, while the other semi-final hangs in the balance going into the last day – Madhya Pradesh need 90+ runs to win, Vidarbha need 4 wickets. Throughout my career, I remained passionate about playing for Mumbai whenever I had the opportunity. Growing up, we had almost 7-8 India players in our dressing room, and it was fun to play alongside them,” Tendulkar wrote on X.
“When India players turn up for their domestic teams, it raises the quality of play for youngsters, and sometimes new talent is identified. It also gives the national players a chance to sometimes rediscover the basics. With top-notch players participating in domestic tournaments, over a period of time, fans will also start following and supporting their domestic teams much more,” Tendulkar added.