Confusion over pay bracket delays match officials match fee

CHENNAI: Administrative confusion prevailing in the BCCI has not affected the domestic calendar in terms of matches being played. In different age categories, tournaments are on in full swing. However, match officials and scorers are not getting paid.

This is because they are not sure whether to mention the old match fee or the proposed, revised fee in the invoice they are supposed to submit after every match.

Working without a hike since 2012, umpires, match referees and scorers were promised one this season. But due to uncertainty in decision-making, things got stuck and no formal announcement was made. Hoping that the revised pay structure will be implemented, umpires and scorers have stopped raising the invoice. Apart from the Duleep Trophy, three rounds have already been played in Ranji Trophy and other tournaments. Round 4 of Ranji starts on Wednesday.

Following the practice till last season, umpires, match referees and scorers used to fill in a form provided by the BCCI after every match, where they had to mention their allowance and match fees. The amount used to get transferred to their accounts after a tax deduction of 10%. Several umpires and scorers say this season they are waiting for the announcement on revised pay and hoping to submit documents once that is done.

The BCCI's finance committee has recommended raise across board in the domestic circuit, for players, match officials and scorers. Under normal circumstances, this would have required the working committee's approval. With court-appointed committee of administrators (CoA) running BCCI at the moment, it's assumed that their go-ahead is awaited.

When Express contacted BCCI CFO Santosh Rangnekar, he did not confirm or deny this, but said he doesn't have details. "I will check this matter tomorrow before I can say anything," he said. BCCI General Manager (game development) Ratnakar Shetty said he can't comment because he doesn't deal with this. Attempts to reach CoA members proved futile.

"We are hoping that the revised pay will be implemented. That's why we have not submitted claims as we usually do after every match. We are not sure if the previous amount is to be mentioned or the new one. We have been informally told to wait for the raise and submit the invoice accordingly," said a BCCI umpire, who has officiated in three rounds of matches this season.

A senior BCCI member said this might have escaped the attention of the CoA and other officials running the board. "A lot of matters are waiting to be addressed because of the situation. The pay issue should have been treated as priority. It should be cleared at the earliest," he said.