HT MEDIA

New Delhi

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has informed that the BCCI has no plans of imposing pay cuts on players or staff, and neither does it plan on laying off people during this period of economic meltdown caused due to the Covid-19.

While Cricket Australia, New Zealand Cricket, Cricket West Indies and the England and Wales Cricket Board have slashed salaries of players and staff, the BCCI plans on keeping things normal, meaning the board may be better placed financially in comparison to others.

“The BCCI has done some cost control after the elected office-bearers took charge last October. The process started before the pandemic. But there has been no pay cut or lay-off as of now. We have cut cost on other fronts like travel, hospitality, etc,” Dhumal told The New Indian Express.

The statement promises to come as a respite for most staff members of the board operating at different levels. However, Dhumal mentioned that if the IPL does not happen this year, the board may be forced to make some changes. It has been reported that if the IPL is given a miss, the BCCI is set to incur losses of approximately Rs 4000 crore.

Although no official call has been taken on the IPL since it was postponed indefinitely, the latest is that the BCCI is trying to slot in the IPL during the October-November window, if the T20 World Cup is not given the go-ahead. Several reports from Cricket Australia suggest that the country is reluctant to stage the ICC event and that it may be moved to another year, most likely 2022.

If that is to happen, the BCCI will likely put forward the idea to stage the IPL as a replacement for the T20 World Cup. “IPL not happening will have a huge impact and we will assess the situation before taking a fresh call,” said Dhumal.