Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to introduce the recently-launched incentive system for Tests into domestic cricket too. The BCCI disclosed its latest scheme upon the conclusion of the five-match series against England, which mandates that players representing India in 75% of Tests both and home will be earning ₹60 lakh per game in addition to their existing match fees of ₹15 lakh.
"I think what Rahul Dravid said, when it was announced in Dharamsala, that he would like to call it a reward," Gavaskar said.
"That is a wonderful thing by the BCCI to reward those who would be playing but I would also request the BCCI to ensure that the feeder to the Test team, which is the Ranji Trophy, that is also looked after."(If) the Ranji Trophy fees can be doubled or tripled, certainly there'll be a lot more people playing the Ranji Trophy, (and a) lot less pull outs from the Ranji Trophy, because if the fees of playing a Ranji Trophy match is a good fee there will be less people pulling out for various reasons," he added.
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Gavaskar said that players will be wanting to play with the slab system every 10 first-class matches that they get, something that he has pleaded the BCCI to look into to. Gavaskar claimed that the recent proactiveness shown by the board can encourage more frontline players to participate in the domestic cricketing ecosystem.
"It is something that everybody is aware of. It is something that should be looked up by every cricketer domestic cricket is actually how they have come up. If they hadn't started at the domestic cricket level, be it the domestic T20, the domestic one-day tournament or the Ranji Trophy, they wouldn't be where they are," Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar has said that there are very few players who have progressed the ranks despite not playing domestic cricket. They have to prove their credentials in the junior levels, or the U-19 age group at least, which is what international players must not forget.
