BCCI, CoA to discuss pay model

The participation of Indian team in the Olympics, in case the sport features in the mega even in future, and the players' remuneration structure at domestic level will come up for discussions when the Committee of Administrators (COA) meets Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials here on Wednesday.

The speculations about cricket featuring in Olympics emerged in March when ICC chief Dave Richardson revealed that the chances are likely that ICC would be submitting an application for the 2024 Olympics this year. Cricket last appeared at the 1900 Paris Olympics when only two teams - Great Britain and France - were involved. India though have been reluctant in sending its team for the multi-disciplinary events, such as the Asian Games. 

The remuneration of domestic players has been a hotly debated topic off late. The domestic pay structure has not been revised since 2007. A fact that has been recently pointed out by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and former India coach Anil Kumble. It is believed that former India captain Sourav Ganguly, too, strongly backed a substantial pay hike for domestic players across all age levels during the BCCI technical committee meeting in Kolkata last week.

The issue of increment in pay, involves not only the



first-class cricketers, but also the umpires, scorers and video analysts. The decision on it is bound to evince plenty of interest. The decision of BCCI technical committee in Kolkata will also be intimated to the COA, who will also be updated on the decisions taken by the Tours and Fixtures Committee.

Also, a presentation by Deloitte in relation to the audit report of the BCCI will be looked at by the COA. The controversial "conflict of interest" too will be discussed. The topic was included in the list of Lodha recommendations which the board felt faced practical difficulties in its implementation.

During its Special General Meeting (SGM) on July 26, the BCCI felt there were areas in the rules and guidelines of conflict of interest which were not very clear. The issue had found a strong mention in the former COA member Ramamchandra Guha's resignation letter. The matter of former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin's pending dues will also come up during the meeting on Wednesday.

Also to figure on the agenda will be appointment of commentators by the BCCI for the upcoming home season. The name of Harsha Bhogle, who was sacked from the BCCI's list of commentators following his critical comments about top Indian players, has been doing the rounds.