“I know it has been increased by double but there is room for [more]”
Former India team director Ravi Shastri is not a fan of the revised payment scheme for national players as he feels they deserve more.
Two weeks ago, the Committee of Administrators (CoA), who were appointed by the Supreme Court and are in charge of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), doubled the annual retainer fee of a Grade A contract to INR 2 crore.
However, Shastri was less than impressed with the figure, especially as sources suggest that England batsman Joe Root and Australia captain Steve Smith are paid between INR 8 crore to INR 12 crore.
“Two crore is nothing, Two crore is peanuts,” Shastri said. “The grade contracts of a Test player should be the highest.
“Pujara should be the highest, on par with the top players. Your A grade contracts should be massive. I know it has been increased by double but there is room for [more].
“An ‘A’ grade cricketer like Pujara should get a massive amount where he is not bothered whether he plays IPL or not. In fact, he will be happy, he can say ‘I will play two months of county cricket’.”
India captain Virat Kohli shares the same views as Shastri and has demanded that the annual retainer fee be increased for Grade A, B and C contracts.