BCCI settles players' dues

Player earnings get better © Getty Images

The Indian players received their dues upto a sum of Rs.10 crore ($2,257,846) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday, before departing for Pakistan.

A BCCI official told The Hindu: "All outstanding money up to December 31, 2005 has been cleared. This includes the match fees up to the third Test against Sri Lanka played at Ahmedabad. The 15 players for whom contract was awarded for the period October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006 have been advanced 25 per cent of the contractual sum. That's Rs. 12.50 lakhs (app. US$28,223) for the Grade `A' players, Rs. 8.75 lakhs ($19,756) for Grade `B' and Rs. 5 lakhs ($11,289) for the Group `C' players. The cheques were given to them in Delhi.''

Currently non-contracted players like Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni received a proportionate sum because they had fulfilled the criteria of five Tests or 15 one-day internationals.

The BCCI's gross earnings is expected to exceed Rs. 500 crore each over the next four years once the television rights contract is finalised. The earnings for the current fiscal year too look bright, and first-class cricketers stand to make maximum gain out of this. In the ongoing 2005-06 domestic season, the match fee could touch Rs. 1 lakh ($2,258).