Board cuts cricketers' pay

The cricket board has cut players' earnings from media rights sold for matches played at home to $47.75 million from $159.17 million.

As a result, the earnings of the richest cricket body in the world will burgeon from $24.5 million to $135.9 million.

The decision was taken at the annual general body meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India held late last month.

Under a newly applied formula, cricketers will earn 7.8 per cent, and not 26 per cent, of the $612.18 million that sports marketing and production company Nimbus is forking out for media rights for matches played in India over four years beginning this year.

The logic behind the decision is that 70 per cent of this money belongs to the 30 affiliated member associations of the BCCI.

"The BCCI's latest interpretation is that as only 30 per cent belongs to it, players will earn 26 per cent of this," said a source close to the development.

The BCCI had in 2003 agreed to share 26 per cent of its income from media, sponsorship and merchandising rights with players in a hierarchy that put international players at the apex and junior domestic players at the base.

BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said the move would not pinch cricketers. "Players will not be affected.

Earlier, 30 per cent of the rights money used to be inducted into the board's gross receipts. From the gross income of the board, which also includes other revenue streams such as sponsorships, merchandising and licensing activities, players' overall earnings will not dip," he said.

The move is, however, being criticised by a section of the BCCI for the impact it will have on junior cricketers and those who play only domestic cricket, and as such get just a trickle of the BCCI media and sponsorship rights money.