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BCCI holds on umpiring overhaul (Source: AFP Photos)
Indian cricket is on the brink of a major shake-up as the BCCI prepares to roll out sweeping changes behind the scenes. As per the recent reports, the highest body of the Indian cricket is set to revise the umpiring structure.
A proposal was submitted to the authority, advocating for a comprehensive overhaul of India’s umpiring system. Reports indicated that the board is considering establishing a dedicated committee before making any game-changing decisions.
BCCI faces growing calls to shake up India’s umpiring system
Cricket thrives on tension and twists, but one controversial umpiring call can turn a thriller into pure chaos. Now, the whole umpiring system of India is under the spotlight as it wants a major overhaul, as a proposal has been taken to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Three members of the Umpires Committee, Sudhir Asnani, K Hariharan, and Amish Saheba, made a strong pitch for a complete overhaul, underlining the urgent need for change. But it seems like the highest body of the Indian cricket is not in any hurry as they are likely to form a committee before taking any major decision.
Reports suggest that the matter will be put on the table again in the next Apex Council meeting. Speaking to Cricbuzz, a BCCI source said, “ The matter has been kept in abeyance. It will be taken up at the next Apex Council meeting.”
Umpiring inequality exposed as committee flags uneven categories
India’s umpiring system currently features 186 officials spread across four tiers, with just nine in A+, 20 in A, 58 in B, and a massive 99 in the C category. In that report, the Umpires Committee highlighted that the lower group umpires are often better than the upper-level umpires, but there has been a huge disparity.
“In the previous years, normally, the A+ and A group umpires were posted for important games and knockout games. But in the last 2 seasons, the performance of the majority of the umpires from these 2 groups were not up to the expected level, and so the better performing umpires from B and C groups were posted to umpire in key matches and had performed as per expectations,” the committee said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“There is a system of promotion and demotion in every group. At present, A+ to A is 1, A to B is 2, and B to C is 5, and vice versa. But this system of promotion and demotion formula is not working very well because the non-performing umpires in A+ and A are much higher, whereas the performing umpires in Group B and C are much better. So it is becoming difficult to fit in the performing umpires in the higher groups,” it added.
Pay gap controversy puts Indian umpiring under scrutiny
Its just not the category-wise promotion as the different salary structure has grabbed the attention. Under the current system, A and A+ umpires earn 40,000 per day, while those from B and C take home 30,000, even when officiating the same match. The committee opposed the rule.
“Also, as you are aware, the payment structure for the A+ and A is more than the B and C groups. Even mixing 2 umpires of different groups becomes difficult since 2 umpires doing the same job will get different payments. The irony is, a performing umpire gets paid less for the same job than the other umpire,” it added.
Adding to this, the committee urged for the same salary for all the umpires. They’ve also proposed a performance-based reward, with standout umpires earning ₹50,000 per day for exceptional displays. The proposal now sits with the BCCI; they are yet to make any final call.
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