Sunil Gavaskar came down hard on ICA president Ashok Malhotra and asked him about his credibility to put questions on players’ salaries.
Sunil Gavaskar file image. (Photo: IANS)
Former India cricket team captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA) president Ashok Malhotra over his comments on the pay cuts for cricketers due to the stoppage of all forms of cricket amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malhotra had earlier said that even though he believed it was not fair to cut salaries of Indian cricketers but if the parent body (BCCI) was not earning the same as it did earlier then it should be normal for players to expect a cut in their wages.
His comment did not go down well with yesteryear’s Little Master as he came down hard on Malhotra and questioned the ICA president’s credibility for such a comment.
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“Like with any sport, if you don’t play you don’t get paid and that’s what will happen. What was amusing though was to read that the president of the Indian Cricketers’ Association has said there should be pay cuts for the India internationals and the first-class players too,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“One can understand him trying to curry favour with the BCCI but with whose authority is he talking about the cuts is the question. The current India internationals and the first-class players are not members of the players’ body so he can’t be speaking on their behalf. It’s easy to talk about pay cuts if it doesn’t hurt your own pocket,” he added.
Though BCCI is on the verge of a huge financial loss with the Indian Premier League facing a possible cancellation due to the novel coronavirus situation in India and across the world, general treasurer Arun Dhumal has clarified that as of now no cuts will be imposed on the cricketers’ salaries.
“No, we have not spoken about this (pay cut). Whatever the steps after this setback, it will be taken judiciously and keeping the interest of all people in mind. Any step taken needs to be thought out and right now we haven’t even thought about it. Obviously this is a big setback, but we will go about this in a way that nobody gets affected. These things can be discussed once things settle down,” he said.
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