Pakistan T20 team get BCCI nod for Champions League
Former Indian players to get monetary rewards
Dubai: The Indian cricket board has taken a major step towards resurrecting cricketing ties with Pakistan by recommending that the nation's Twenty20 (T20) team be allowed to play in the annual Champions League.
The working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the recommendation to the Champions League governing council following a meeting in Chennai yesterday.
The working committee also approved a limited number of friendly matches to be played by Indian Premier League (IPL) teams with Associate and Affiliate countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC) — subject to guidelines approved by the BCCI.
This will pave the way for countries like the UAE and Afghanistan to play against IPL teams in the long term.
The ICC had fielded an Associate and Affiliate team to play warm-up matches against England in the UAE during their Test series with Pakistan earlier this year.
The BCCI president, Narayanaswami Srinivasan, will now become the next president of the Asian Cricket Council based on a rotation policy. The working committee has approved his nomination.
Following various allegations of Indian cricketers and businessmen being involved in spot-fixing, the working committee also approved setting up an anti-corruption unit under the BCCI.
One-time payment
Also, players who have represented India in Test matches earlier will soon get richer.
From the surplus cash reserves of the IPL, the BCCI will make a one-off benefit payment to cricketers who retired before 2003-04 in recognition of their services to Indian cricket at both the international and domestic levels. Around 160 cricketers are eligible for this payment.
The total payment will cost around Rs700 million (Dh47.93 million). Cricketers who have played more than 100 Test matches will receive Rs15 million each and those who have played between 75 and 99 Tests will be awarded Rs10 million each.
Cricketers who played between 50 and 74 Tests will earn Rs7.5 million. Cricketers who played 100 and more first-class matches will receive Rs3 million, and those who played between 75 and 99 matches will get Rs2.5 million.
