Over the last three weeks or so, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made some noises about prioritising domestic red-ball cricket.
They have also, seemingly, demoted a couple of players as they didn’t pay heed to their words (the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are without central contracts as things stand).
On Friday, they continued to travel down this road as they further incentivised players who feature in the longest format of the game. Called the ‘Test Cricket Incentive Scheme’, a cricketer’s fee could go up as high as 300% per Test if they feature in over 75% of the games played in that season.
“This scheme,” the BCCI said in a statement, “is not only designed to encourage players to engage in the purest format of the sport but also addresses the evolving dynamics of the cricketing landscape, ensuring parity with match fees in other formats and league cricket. This initiative aligns with our vision of promoting Test cricket as the pinnaclethe sport.”
On the face of it, this is a good scheme. Other cricketing boards have seen players shunning Tests for white-ball tournaments. But one couldn’t help but wonder if the BCCI would prioritise next year’s World Test Championship final (India are the current leaders) as well as the five-Test England series that will likely begin after the culmination of the one-off final.
What’s the connection between the BCCI and a match where the identity of both teams are yet to be known? As always, context is king.
Last year’s IPL finished on May 29. Three cricketers who featured in that final (Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane) reached the UK a few days later. Less than a week after arriving in London, they faced up to Australia.