BCCI mulling performance-based incentives for the Indian team

Encouraged by the financial model followed by Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board, the BCCI is planning to introduce a performance-based incentive for the Indian team for each and every home and away series. 

There was an initial blueprint that was drawn at the Board's finance committee meeting that took place in the capital on Wednesday.

While BCCI's finance committee has agreed in principle on going the corporate way where profit sharing will be directly proportional to the board's revenue, the members discussed the possible ways of doing it.

According to BCCI sources, it was IPL COO Sundar Raman, who provided a presentation for the finance committee members where it was intimated that Cricket Australia, ECB and BCCI's next door neighbours PCB also follow an incentive-based model in their respective countries. 

"Till now, BCCI normally gave handsome incentives to cricketers during triumphs in big tournaments like 50-over World Cup, World T20 or ICC Champions Trophy. But from now on, the BCCI is planning to have incentives for each and every series played at home and away," sources told PTI.

For example, if India wins a Test series at home against a particular opposition, the cricketers will be entitled to a specific amount of incentive from the board apart from their match fees. 

Similarly, the amount will shoot up when they are playing some other opposition on foreign soil. Even the best performers during a particular series will get special performance-based incentives. 

The amount will depend on the nature of opposition, conditions, home and away and impact of the performance. While Raman gave an initial presentation, an elaborate blueprint is likely to be chalked out on July 22, when the next meeting of the committee will be held.

Meanwhile, the finance committee decided that India's women cricketers will be divided into two groups A and B for the gradation payment system that the BCCI is planning to introduce. 

The sources said that the ones in Grade A like captain Mithali Raj, pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami, top batsman Harmanpreet Kaur will be getting an annual retainership fee of Rs 10 lakh while those in grade B will be getting Rs 5 lakh.