Kumar Sangakkara Calls for a Revised Wage Structure for Test Cricketers

Former Sri Lanka batsman and captain, Kumar Sangakkara has called for Test cricket to introduce a minimum match fees for all countries to stop young players from ditching the Test format for the lucrative T20 Leagues.

Sangakkara is fifth on the list of all-time run-scorer as he had scored 12,400 runs in 134 Tests at an average of 57.40.

Sangakkara who retired from international cricket in 2015, bid farewell to domestic cricket in 2017 when he played his last season for English county side, Surrey.

However he will continue to play in the domestic T20 leagues around the world. Sanga will play for Galaxy Gladiators Lantau in this week’s Hong Kong tournament.

Cricket has gained unparalleled popularity in the 21^st century, primarily because of the shorter format of the game gaining prominence, and with more than a two franchise leagues coming up. In fact, the cricket fraternity has expanded with the rise of T20 cricket which had led to attracting fans in countries with very little exposure to the game.

In fact, the players have also shown partiality towards the shorter format of the game and have ditched Test cricket, as T20 cricket helps them earn more.

Sangakkara feels T20 cricket has helped spread the game to other countries,

“T20 is the ideal format to introduce — you talk about the Americas, with China. Since its inception, it’s been a huge pillar of strength for world cricket. But there are a few negatives … a lot of young players taking up T20 instead of playing international cricket. There are various things that have been discussed, about parity of pay, especially when it comes to match fees for Test cricket. Shouldn’t there be a blanket minimum pay for Test cricketers?

“The top countries are being paid a certain Test match fee — shouldn’t that be reflected all throughout the Test-playing countries?” 

He also said changes need to be done to keep Test cricket alive,

“We need to understand what Test cricket means to players and what it is to fans. Relevance in sport is so important in terms of not just growing the sport but also sustaining it. I think international cricket is very strong still. For any player, I think the honour of representing their country be it in Test, one-dayers or T20 cricket, it’s still the pinnacle of the game.”

The left-handed batsman also praised T20 cricket for extending his career,

“T20 is definitely the easiest format at my age to stay competitive in,” 

According to a survey last year by ESPN Cricinfo, Australia’s captain Steven Smith was due to earn $1,469,000 in 2017 while Zimbabwean skipper Graeme Cremer pocketed just $86,000.

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