Domestic players call for central contracts as savings deplete in Covid-19 pandemic

The world came to a standstill last year after there was a COVID-19 outburst all over the globe and cricket was no different. The cricketing activities in the country and all around the world were put to a halt resulting in financial constraints for the players. 

There have been talks about compensating the Indian domestic players who have missed out on playing during the pandemic. 

Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat has said that the domestic players should also be given the annual contracts just like the national side. 

The left-arm bowler did admit that it is not possible for the boards to hand over contracts to all the players but they can pick up best 30 out of the lot for the purpose. 

“Talks over central contracts were happening even before the pandemic. Even cricketers at the age group level should be compensated for the lack of cricket, it will keep them motivated and then hand contracts to senior players,” he said. 

“You can’t give contracts to all but you can pick top-30 players for contracts. A pool of 30 players sounds feasible to me,” Unadkat told PTI.

Chhattisgarh captain Harpreet Singh Bhatia also explained how he has to travel to the UK and play club cricket there to make ends meet. 

“I played all of 10 white ball games last season. It wasn't clear enough clearly. I had to come to the UK to make extra money. Since I don’t have a job back in India, I come to England anyway to supplement my income,” he said. 

Bhatia further echoed what Unadkat had said that a central contract will help him financially and he won’t need to travel to UK. “If I had a central contract back home, it wouldn’t be a compulsion for me to play in the UK,” Bhatia added. 

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has said that the governing body is working towards the compensation package. However, the matter wasn’t taken up in the recently-concluded SGM on May 29.