35 per cent salary yet to be paid for Kochi Tuskers players from 2011 season: Brad Hodge

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been under a great deal of scrutiny recently after reports from the Telegraph suggested that the Indian women cricketers are yet to receive their dues from the ICC T20 World Cup 2020, where they ended up as the runners up.

The team was set to receive a massive amount of $500,000 from the International Cricket Council. However, the BCCI, despite receiving the sum from the ICC, is yet to advance it in favour of the cricketers. Having received massive flak due to the same, the BCCI came forward and issued a clarification stating that they received the prize amount late last year and that all the players will be paid their due by the end of this week.

Even before that storm could have settled, Brad Hodge, the former Australian player, has accused the Indian board of holding up 35% of the amount earned by them ten years ago, while representing the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise in the Indian Premier League.

“Players are still owed 35% of their money earned from ten years ago from the @IPL representing Kochi tuskers. Any chance @BCCI could locate that money? players haven’t received their share of money even a year later and it is learned that BCCI is holding up all the money,” read Hodge’s tweet in response to the Telegraph reporting about the pressure that BCCI is reportedly under for its treatment of women cricketers.

BCCI under the scanner

Notably, the Board was targeted by many for the stark disparity between the payment made to centrally contracted men cricketers and women cricketers. While an A+ and A-grade contract for the men ensures an INR 7 Crore and 3 Crore payment annually, a female A-grade contract holder receives INR 50 lakhs. Likewise, contract categories B and C also offer much lesser annual payments to women as compared to men.

Meanwhile, on being reached out regarding the payment of women cricketers, a senior board functionary stated: “The members of the Indian women’s cricket team will be getting the share of their prize money by the end of this week. The transactions have been processed and I am expecting that they will receive their share very soon,” to the Times of India.