Pay Hike On The Cards For 'Test Specialists' Cheteshwar Pujara And Ajinkya Rahane?

India Test cricketers Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane could get a pay hike as Shantha Rangaswamy, the female representative of Indian Cricketers Association, has said the players’ contract can be revisited, especially for the players who play just one format.

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As per the present system, the players’ contracts have been divided into four grades. Grade A+ includes players who play all formats viz. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. Grade B includes players who are Test or ODI regulars. Likes of R Ashwin, Pujara, Rahane, Ishant Sharma, MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan and others are a part of it.

Grade B includes players who are not a regular member in playing XI, regardless of the format while Grade C includes players who are in and out of the side.

Pujara and Rahane, both Test specialists, are paid Rs 5 Crore for being in Grade A.

“We already have brackets wherein Virat plays all three formats so he is in the highest bracket. Some play only Tests, some play T20Is, so they are remunerated accordingly. With Ganguly there (as President), it can be revisited. And maybe what is good for the game and the welfare of the players can be taken up,” Rangaswamy told IANS.

Players in Grade A+ are paid Rs 7 Crore while BCCI pays Rs 3 Crore and 1 Crore to players in Grade B and C, respectively.

Before 2018/19, thee BCCI used to divide contracts into three categories with the player in top category getting paid Rs 1 Crore but the contracts were revised and an A+ category was added.

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It remains to be seen if the BCCI does introduce a change in the contract system as there are few players in the side who play just one or two formats.

The contracts for the 2020/21 season will be offered in March next year. A change in the Grades is unlikely to take place but as Rangaswamy mentioned, there can be a case when the contracts of Test specialists could be revisited.