BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

Rahul Johri

MUMBAI: In a move that seems to be aimed at luring big spenders from the broadcasting industry, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri, at an event in Mumbai, announced that a detailed calendar of the Indian cricket team’s touring programme from 2019 to 2023 would be made available to the public. The announcement could come as a big relief for broadcasters that are planning to bid for the upcoming BCCI rights on 27 March 2018.

Johri said, “There is a four-year FTP (future tours programme) cycle that we follow. The BCCI has negotiated the FTP cycle for the Indian team from 2019 to 2023. For the first time, five years in advance, you’ll have a day-date wise calender of the Indian team’s programme.”

Dsport is not bidding for the rights in the upcoming online auction while Star India and Sony have their hands full with other leagues and tournament rights.

Recently, the BCCI also introduced central contracts for Indian cricketers. Two new categories were introduced: category A+ introduced for senior men and category C for senior women.

Speaking about the decision, Johri said: "We are proud that the Indian cricket team is the best in the world in all the formats. The women's team reached the final of the World Cup, the U-19 team won the World Cup. So, we have to give them the best infrastructure and the best support."

He added that the best part about the central contracts, which were announced earlier this week, was the focus on domestic cricket because that is the bedrock of the Indian cricket. "Until now, the domestic players would get the actual compensation after one-and-a-half-years. What has been done now is the match fee of the domestic cricketers has been raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000 per day. And they get the match fee after playing the games. Domestic players' earnings are not dependent on the number of games team India plays. That is where the change will come," he added. 

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