Following India’s fantastic victory over England by an innings and 64 runs in the fifth and final Test at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, securing a 4-1 series win, BCCI secretary Jay Shah revealed the introduction of the ‘Test Cricket Incentive Scheme’ for the senior men’s team.
The incentive scheme provides a financial boost for players who prioritize playing Test cricket and is in addition to the existing match fee of INR 15 lakh per match.
The incentive structure shared by the BCCI secretary indicates that players who participate in over 50% of Tests in a season since 2022-23 will receive the greatest benefits. A player who competes in five to six Tests during a nine-match season will receive INR 30 lakh per match as an incentive for being part of the playing eleven, with INR 15 lakh per match allocated as an incentive for being part of the non-playing eleven.
Players who participate in at least 75% of matches, which equates to seven or more matches in a nine-game season, will receive a playing incentive of INR 45 lakh per match, with a fixed non-playing eleven incentive of INR 22.5 lakh. This incentive structure does not apply to those who play fewer than four Tests in a season.
This development follows Shah’s letter to centrally-contracted players last month, urging them not to prioritize IPL over domestic cricket, citing the trend as a cause for concern.
India wins, hammer England in Dharamsala to win Test series 4-1
Subsequently, the seriousness of the matter was underscored when Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were excluded from the 2023/24 BCCI annual contracts list due to their lack of regular participation in domestic cricket matches, following the dispatch of the letter.
“It is essential to recognise that domestic cricket forms the backbone of Indian cricket and serves as the feeder line to Team India. Our vision for Indian cricket has been clear from the outset – every cricketer aspiring to play for India must prove themselves in domestic cricket. Performance in domestic tournaments remains a critical yardstick for selection, and non-participation in domestic cricket will carry severe implications,” Shah had said in the letter.
