During the occasion of Diwali in India, several companies boost the morale of their employees by sending free gifts and cash prizes as a form of bonus. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is presumably not like one of those good-hearted companies.
A report in the Indian Express says that as many as 115 umpires, 62 match referees, 170 video analysts and 150 scorers, who are a part of the country's domestic cricket scene, are still waiting to receive their payment from the board.
As of Diwali 2017, the Duleep Trophy has come to an end and the Ranji Trophy has witnessed two rounds of play so far.
So how much are these officials paid and how exactly do they receive the money? Let's look into these facts:
- The BCCI officials first have to foot bills from their pockets. Only after showing the receipt, does the BCCI reimburse them.
- In the quest to fulfil PM Narendra Modi's dream of a digital India, the BCCI have taken the step of making digital payments to the officials, instead of cash.
- The daily allowance of these officials is just about Rs 750. They are also entitled to receive the second AC tier railway fare, but the tickets need to be booked by the officials themselves.
- Despite the daily allowance being less than 1k, the BCCI officials for the domestic cricket matches are put up in five-star hotels where the price of even the breakfast meal is close to 2k!
- Normally, it takes just a few days or a week at max for the BCCI to make the payments. This time around, the dues have not been paid for reportedly over three months.
"The other day, I paid Rs 1,200 for curd rice," mentioned a cricket match referee to the Indian publication. "There are state players who get Rs 1,500 and we get half of it. The board was never like this before. Many of us are on the road for the past three weeks."
While the BCCI are yet to comment on the development, some video analysts have been told that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout earlier this year, has caused all the delay.
