In a recent development, the Indian cricketers association president Ashok Malhotra has suggested that the players of the Indian cricket team including skipper Virat Kohli could face a pay cut in the coming days as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that has brought the entire cricketing world to a standstill.
Consequently, the finances of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have taken a huge blow in recent times as not only the India-South Africa series was called off midway but the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was also pushed to 15 April with high chances of the tournament getting cancelled.
It is in this context that Malhotra stated that the players should be expecting a pay cut as the Indian Board is not making as much money as they are used to and the players might be called upon to contribute from their own pocket by taking lesser salary back home.
“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,” he added.
“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,” concluded.