Sport - Cricket

A flawed contract-based system

One of the worst practises in Indian cricket is the central contracts dished out to all and sundry by creating grades to please certain sections. Any system without criteria is bound to attract criticism, especially when the number of players keep increasing within the contract-based system.

Agreed there was the need to have a contract system for the top players when there was hardly any money in the game but with each player being taken care of by the BCCI in enhancing the match fees for the domestic tournaments, the least BCCI could have done was to make the criteria more stringent for the central contracts.

When the cricketers are more concerned about the IPL than the Ranji or Duleep Trophy because of big money, the contracts should have been merited on a point-based system which could have directly been linked to the performances of the players spanning over a minimum of three years.

Performances in domestic and international cricket over three years could have given the BCCI the insight to grade the players and possibly give more remuneration to lesser players. At least, they would have done justice to the players who have been consistent. It’s absurd that a player of V.V.S. Laxman’s class gets promoted. Either he is in Grade ‘A’ or he is out of the system.

If there was a criterion for putting Laxman in Grade ‘B’ last year, then there ought to have been the same yardstick for some of the lucky ones in the list of this year’s contracts. Unless Murali Kartik has acquired passport of another country, he should have been offered a contract but he is not even in the Indian team.

A bowler who has performed creditably for Middlesex this season is not found good enough for even the country is something one can’t fathom. How many of the spinners in the contract list have taken five wickets in an innings more than Kartik? Performance doesn’t seem to be the criteria.

Had that been the case most of the spinners wouldn’t have been offered the contract.

How does a cricketer who has scored 39 runs in three ODIs manage to be in Grade ‘B’ which gives a fee of Rs. 40 lakhs as per the contract? And what is the performance of Sreesanth to extend his contract when he has hardly done anything of note because of his fitness problems. There are at least 10 non-performing mediocre players in the contract.

Some of the performances of the India ‘A’ team have been totally ignored.

It’s a mockery of the concept which is supposed to encourage the second string players. Figures present the true and grimy picture.

The BCCI has to rethink and not ignore the performers of the India ‘A’ and knock-out rounds of the Ranji Trophy.

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