New Indian cricket board president Sourav Ganguly has said bringing all first-class players in the country under contracts to ensure their financial security was his priority and BCCI’s latest unit Uttarakhand has taken the lead, announcing it will offer contracts and scholarships to players at all levels.
The final decision will be taken once BCCI releases its guidelines and will come into effect after March, when the domestic season ends and the performers among senior men and women are picked. Even if the BCCI decides not to introduce contracts, the state will go ahead with its own formula, a top official of Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) said.
Uttarakhand, inducted into the BCCI fold in August, also announced scholarships for performing U-16 and U-19 players. It announced a scholarship of R10,000 per month for two U-16 players, batsman Vanshaj Chauhan and left-arm spinner Mohammed Farhan, for performances this season. It will pay the same amount to performers at U-19 level once the season ends. The maximum scholarships at junior level for both boys and girls are five each.
“There is no fixed number for contracted players at the senior level. The association has decided it will award performers. This initiative was needed because at the junior level, the equipment is expensive and kids find it difficult to buy. At senior level, there are no jobs and no security for first-class players. There is uncertainty, so we wanted to ensure some level of security,” the official said.
CAU also plans to have two full-fledged academies—including one in Dehradun—where players can train around the year. The Dehradun academy will start within a month while the other will be built once the location is finalised, said the official.
Former Delhi player and U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand, who has moved to Uttarakhand this season, said, “It gives players a lot of security, which is necessary for performance. Players now won’t have to worry about losing match fees due to injury. The decision to set up the academies will ensure Uttarakhand players don’t run around searching for facilities.”
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