MCA opens the purse strings for its Ranji Trophy players
tar shuttler K. Srikanth emerged as the lone Indian survivor at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament when he progressed to the semifinals with a straight game win over Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hao Lee here.
SThe Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has given a muchneeded financial boost to the senior men’s domestic cricketers. On Saturday,the MCA apex council passed a proposal to pay the Ranji Trophy players as much matchfees as paid by the BCCI apart from what the BCCI pays the players, starting with the 202425 domestic season.
“MCA will be paying additional match fees per Ranji Trophy game to each player from next season onwards. We felt that the player should earn more, especially those who play Ranji Trophy cricket. For us redball cricket matters the most as Ranji Trophy holds a special place for everyone in Mumbai,” MCA president Amol Kale said.
During Mumbai’s recentlyconcluded triumphant campaign, those who played all the 10 games would earn anywhere between ₹17.20 lakh and ₹25.80 lakh, depending on their experience. The same players will take home at least ₹34.40 lakh from next season.
At the moment, a player with less than 20 Ranji caps earns ₹40,000 per matchday, those between 21 and 40 appearances and 41+ caps are paid ₹50,000 and ₹60,000 per matchday, respectively.
“By aligning with BCCI’s matchfees and providing additional support, the apex council aims to create a conducive environment for young cricketers to excel and hone their skills,” said Ajinkya Naik, the MCA secretary.
By topping the matchfees, the MCA has worked out a solution to bypass the state association contracts issue.
The Hindu understands that Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane has had multiple discussions with the officebearers over the last couple of years to initiate player contracts or incentivise cricketers in the domestic arena.
It will be interesting to see if other state associations — who have been reluctant to implement player contracts due to availability issues — can take a cue from the MCA and implement a similar initiative.