Sourav Ganguly hints at contract system for first-class cricketers

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday hinted that a contract system will soon be in place for the thousands of first-class cricketers in India, providing them a much-needed sense of security. Sourav Ganguly, in his first interview to the PTI, had mentioned that the financial health of domestic cricketers was paramount and wanted to increase their match fees. In a move that could be a game-changer for domestic cricketers, the BCCI president wants to bring in a secured structured payment system just like the annual central contract for the country's top international cricketers.

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Sourav Ganguly hints at a big surprise for the first-class cricketers

"We will bring in a contract system for first-class cricketers. We (office-bearers) will ask the new finance (sub) committee to prepare a contract system," Sourav Ganguly told PTI during an exclusive interaction. "It's just been four-five days and in between, there was a Diwali break. It will take about two weeks to assess everything and move forward. There is a lot of work going on," the BCCI president said.

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Sourav Ganguly heading in the right direction

Currently, a domestic cricketer annually earns around Rs 25 to 30 lakh depending on the matches played. The match fee for a first-class game is Rs 35,000 per day(excluding the daily allowance) and the domestic cricketers get 13 percent distributed amongst them from the gross revenue earned by BCCI through broadcast rights. However, in a big country like India, working out modalities for the contract system will be a complex ask as every state has a different working mechanism. Whether the BCCI draws a broad outline for gradation of the players or instructs the state units to do the same, Sourav Ganguly is moving in the right direction.

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Sourav Ganguly to meet Rahul Dravid

Longtime teammates Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will reconnect in Bengaluru on Wednesday as BCCI President and head of National Cricket Academy respectively to discuss the roadmap of Indian cricket's feeder line. Dravid, who took charge as NCA chief in July, has already drawn a roadmap for the institution and Ganguly is expected to give his inputs when the two former captains meet. The meeting will be attended by all the newly elected BCCI office-bearers who took charge on October 30. NCA CEO Tufan Ghosh will also be part of discussions. Ganguly and Dravid have been together at a few BCCI technical committee meetings, which the 'Prince of Kolkata' chaired and Dravid attended as India U-19 and A team head coach.

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