India cricketers association president Ashok Malhotra feels players could face pay cut in the coming days as a result of coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the entire globe. The entire sporting calendar of the world has been shredded due to the outbreak and cricket has also suffered the brunt of it.
The financial might of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken hit in recent times after India’s ODI series against South Africa was called off. Also, the start date of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League was pushed to April 15 but as things stand, there is a chance that IPL won’t take place this year at all.
Malhotra stated players should be ready for a pay cut as BCCI isn’t making the kind of money it used to and the cricketers could have to ‘contribute’ from their own pocket by taking a salary cut.
“The BCCI is the parent body of the cricketers. It’s a company. If a company is making losses, then it all filters down,” Malhotra was quoted as saying by Times of India. “In Europe, almost all the footballers, normally paid the highest among all, are taking a huge pay cut, which has been announced by their associations.”
“This was an unexpected scenario. These are very tough times. So, everyone will have to try and contribute from their pocket.
“I know it’s not fair to reduce the salaries of the players, but if the parent body is not earning as much as it was doing before, the cricketers will definitely have to expect a pay cut,” he added.
The outbreak of coronavirus has brought the entire world to a standstill with several countries going into lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. More than 850,000 people have been infected by the virus while in excess of 42,000 people have lost their lives so far.
The pandemic has caused several multi-national events to be postponed with Olympics 2020 and Euro 2020 being the biggest casualties. The fate of ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia in October, also hangs in balance.