Close-in: Let’s talk money

India must be progressing in leaps and bounds as rather than discussing unemployment, newspapers are now full of salaries and pay packets of individuals.

The sharing of profit and wealth with the leading performers of corporates and sports institutions is becoming a norm for rewarding them. Infosys, Tatas, Mahindras and now the BCCI have all got a common thread and that is the news about their top individuals pay packets.

India had in the past a very conservative society where money and especially the accumulation of wealth was never discussed publicly. The reason being that one associated it with thoughts such as, people may cast an evil eye or be jealous of one’s success. Laxmi the Goddess of wealth, was kept with care and secrecy and very much indoors. Today, in the transparent world, it is becoming mandatory to reveal the monetary numbers and so success is now being measured through the money earned. The higher one earns, the more the respect and admiration he or she gets.

Corporate senior executives have all become victims of the environment and one can now see the trend moving towards sports, especially cricket in India. The BCCI is the richest cricket institution in the world and so their top cricket players are rightfully demanding their pound of flesh. Virat Kohli the captain has strongly protested against the doubling of their annual pay package asking for a five-time increase for the elite contracted players.

International Indian cricket players while they are playing and wearing the Indian cricket colours have always thought about themselves first. The comparisons over generations have always revolved around the foreign teams and their players compensations. Two thoughts escaped their minds, one is of the average income within the country and the standard of living that they so vehemently are comparing with and the other being the difference in the pay packet between them and their less fortunate 1st class teammates.

Doubling an annual salary is a cause for celebration desired by most individual in any field. Unfortunately, this has not gone down well with the present senior cricketers from India. The top guns not only want much much more but are looking to form a player’s association to become a combined unit to enforce it. The past has shown that thoughts such as these disintegrate as soon as the seniors have been sufficiently compensated. A thought that escapes one and all is that hundreds of first class players are also playing the game of cricket in India. I personally would have been elated if the same increase of doubling of the match fees would have been generously announced for first class players in India as well.

Fortunately, one of the most wonderful suggestions, to be implemented by the Lodha committee has been the formation of a cricketers body in all the associations and at the BCCI. One hopes that this would then become the united voice of cricketers and that it will equally represent each and every one of them.

The present IPL and the injuries and absence of some of India’s international players from it, has brought about a very interesting development. The players contracted by the BCCI are adequately insured, and they will be paid their respective IPL contracted amount. So a Virat Kohli, Ashwin, Jadeja, Rahul, Umesh Yadav will not miss out on their assured amount. If one does a simple addition of their IPL earnings along with their BCCI contracted amount, their take home pay as one looks at in the corporate world is as much as any earner in the same field abroad. Playing for India is what makes them superstars and justifiably so, they also make addition income out of the off their field activities. While on the other hand, a domestic player who may get injured or made to sit at home is either not compensated or given 50 per cent of his fees only if he has joined and played a practice match

My thoughts, therefore, are very much that. Yes, the Indian contracted cricketers should be well taken care of. However, they should look at the bigger picture of fighting for their first class teammates as well.

When all the Indian domestic and International players come together as a united force, only then will they become a powerful unit for the BCCI to deal with and every player will then get a justified reward.

The first match of the IPL between the Sunrisers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore was a complete sell out. The interesting outcome was that the absence of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, the two superstars of the IPL, made no significant difference to the millions watching the match. That itself is a tale to ponder upon.

(Yajurvindra Singh is a former Indian cricketer)