One of the greatest beneficiaries due to globalisation in the 90s was Indian cricket. With the influx of televisions, brands, and its advertisement, the monetary aspects of the sport in the country blossomed.
Now, the likes of Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
The Indian cricket board, BCCI, also went on to become the wealthiest board and was renowned for taking care of its players financially.
BCCI’s golden-hen, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has only taken its financial power to another level. The Indian cricketers are often provided with an exorbitant sum of money for their services in the cash-rich league.
Moreover, such was not the case during the 70s and the 80s. Much of the credit has to be attributed to the title-winning Indian team which took part in the 1983 World Cup.
Their improbable win over world-beaters West Indies in the final of the tournament was responsible for giving birth to a generation of quality cricketers, and the massive following cricket has today in India.
Former Pakistan cricketer, Ramiz Raja, recently shared a picture of the pay-slip of 1983 world-cup winning Indian team on Twitter.
“Had to reproduce this… will try to get a copy of what we got paid for the Indian tour in 86-87. I remember it to this date what I got: played 5 Tests and 6 ODI’s and got paid Rs 55000,” captioned Raja’s post.
All members of the Indian team were paid a daily allowance of INR 600 with match fees of INR 1500. Therefore, the Indian cricketers were paid INR 2100 every match.
Had to reproduce this… will try to get a copy of what we got paid for the Indian tour in 86-87. I remember it to this date what I got: played 5 Tests and 6 ODI’s and got paid Rs 55000. pic.twitter.com/kbmGMkVGqE
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) July 26, 2020
In contrast, an A+ graded player contracted by BCCI receives a sum of INR 7 crores annually. Through his post, Raja highlights the paradigm shift the cricketing world has observed in the last few decades.
