Team-wise match fees paid in all formats of the game

Every cricket board in the world has a contract for its players. The players get their fees based on these contracts. While many boards generally pay a huge sum to their players, there are some boards that pay very little to their players.

Over the years, we have seen many players going against their own boards for disagreements based on their salaries. Recently we saw the Sri Lankan players disagree with their boards due to some issues in their contracts.

Just like contracts, there is a term known as match fees. Match fees are basically a particular amount paid to a player playing a match. The amount differs from format to format.

In the article, we shall be taking a look at team-wise match fees paid in all formats of the game:

1) England

If you think that Indian players earn the most then you’re wrong, It is the English players who get paid the most. The ECB pays their players 18.5 lakh rupees per Test. This happens to be the highest amount paid by any board to their players who play a Test match.

England’s board then pays their players 10 lakh rupees per ODI match which is again the highest. Now coming to the shortest format of the game, English players get paid 5.1 lakh rupees for every T20I match they play.

Thus, English players are the highest-paid international cricketers in the world. It gets better for them when you realize that they get bonus fees for match-winning performances. Imagine the fact that Joe Root gets paid more than the likes of Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, and Kane Williamson.

2) Australia

Like England, Australia has a rich cricket board as well. However, their players don’t get paid as much as the English players. Aussie players get paid 11 lakh rupees for every Test match they play.

They then get paid 8.5 lakh for every ODI match they play. This happens to be more than the match fees paid by BCCI to their players for playing an ODI game. The Aussie T20I specialists are the luckiest as they get paid a whopping 5.6 lakh rupees per T20I match.

This is the highest match fee paid by a board to their players for playing a T20I match. Overall, the Aussie players might not be the highest-paid cricketers but they are certainly paid a decent amount for playing a match in any format. This motivates them to be at their best whenever they play an international match.

3) Pakistan

While we have spoken about boards who pay their players a large sum of money for every match, let’s talk about a board that pays slightly lesser than what people would generally expect. It’s really shocking that the PCB doesn’t pay their players a large sum of money. Pakistan players get 3.6 lakh rupees for every Test they play.

The players from Pakistan then get 2.2 lakh rupees per ODI match. As for the shortest format of the game, the PCB pays 1.6 lakh rupees for every T20I match their players play. The gap between the match fees for every ODI game and the match fees for every T20I game isn’t much.

Although there are a few boards that pay their players lesser match fees per game, one would’ve expected Pakistan’s board to pay higher match fees. Thus, this might be one of the major reasons why former Pakistani players start their own YouTube channel more often than not. Various rumours even suggest that Mohammad Amir retired from international cricket so that he can play more T20 leagues and earn more.

4) Bangladesh

As mentioned earlier, Pakistan are not the only board that pays relatively lower match fees to their players. Unfortunately, the salaries received by players from Bangladesh are not too high. The BCB pays their players 2.6 lakh rupees for every Test match they play.

Now coming to the shorter formats of the game, Bangladesh players are paid 1.7 lakh rupees per ODI match. When it comes to T20Is, they are paid 1 lakh rupees per game. The difference between the amount for an ODI game and a T20I game isn’t much.

Like the players from Pakistan, Bangladeshi players don’t get paid anywhere as close to what the Indian players get. The nation’s economy might be the reason for this. However, the captain of Bangladesh does get paid a little more.

5) India

By now everyone must be knowing that the BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world. Thus, the match fees paid to their players per match is very high. Indian players get 15 lakh rupees per Test match.

As India play a lot of Test matches in a year, India’s Test specialists get a lot of money for playing Test matches. The Indian players get paid 6 lakh rupees for every ODI match. This amount is more than decent as well.

Last but not least, the BCCI pays their players 3 lakh rupees for every T20I match. This helps the T20I specialists earn a few bucks too. Thus, these are the amounts paid per match by the BCCI to the Indians players who play for India.

6) South Africa

The match fees for the Proteas players are slightly complicated. While their match fees per Test match are decent. Their match fees paid for every ODI and T20I match is considerably low. CSA pays 3.3 lakh rupees to their players for every Test match they play.

The Proteas players get 87,000 rupees for every ODI they play. Now coming to the shortest format of the game, SA players get a mere 58,000 rupees for every T20I they play. This happens to be lesser than the match fees of players from Bangladesh and Pakistan as well.

However, players like Quinton De Kock and Faf Du Plessis do get paid slightly more owing to their stature and game. The low match fees might be one of the many reasons why various players from South Africa decide to go the Kolpak route. Thus, the Proteas players are one of the least paid players in international cricket.

7) Sri Lanka

As mentioned earlier, the Sri Lankan players had a few issues with their boards with respect to their salaries. Thus, they have agreed to play the next series uncontracted. However, players from Sri Lanka do get higher match fees as compared to the players from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and even South Africa.

The Lankan players get 5.5 lakh rupees for every Test they play. They then get 4 lakh rupees for every ODI they play. The difference between their ODI and T20I fees is 1.5 lakhs as they get paid 2.5 lakh rupees for every T20I game.

While these numbers might not be too high, they are still decent. Another important point to be noted is that they are paid double when they win a Test. Thus, their match fees per Test fluctuate depending upon the performance.

8) New Zealand

The match fees received by the Kiwi players are neither too high nor too low. However, as compared to the big 3 i.e. India England and Australia, they aren’t paid as much as them. New Zealand players get 4.5 lakh rupees for every Test they play.

They then get paid 2 lakh rupees for every ODI they play. Last but not the least, their match fees per T20I game is 1.3 lakh rupees. It gets sad when you realize that the Black Caps don’t even play too often.

If you’ve noticed then you’d know that New Zealand always play a Test series comprising of just 2 Tests, unlike other teams who play 3, 4, and sometimes even 5 Tests in a series. They play a lot lesser matches as compared to teams. Thus, it would be safe to say that the Kiwis are slightly unlucky.