Promotion and relegation system added as BCCI revamps umpire pay structure

The BCCI has restricted the categories of the umpires while enhancing their per-day pay "substantially" along with that of the match referees, while introducing a promotion-relegation system based on merit, the board's secretary Devajit Saikia informed on Friday.

Saikia said there was no revision of the fees for the umpires and match referees for nearly a decade, which has been done now.

While details weren't furnished, currently, for senior domestic tournaments umpires in top two grades get Rs 40,000 an Rs 30,000 per day respectively while for T20 games, the amount is Rs 20,000.

But the revised payments will be Rs 60,000, Rs 50,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 35,000 per day as per grades A, B, C and D.

"For almost 10 years from 2017-18, there was no revision of the fees of the umpires so we have done a restructuring of their categories," Saikia told reporters here after the BCCI's AGM here on Friday.

"Earlier there were four categories, A+, A, B and C. Now we have restructured it as A, B, C and D. All their fees per-day has been enhanced substantially. As match referee is concerned, we have also upgraded their fees and revised their fee structure," he added.

Saikia said under an "umpires board", the umpires will be posted as per the assessment of their merit and accordingly, they would be promoted and relegated in domestic cricket.

"All their postings will be done as per their merits. We have an assessing team under the umpires board. They will assess the umpires. According to their merit, they will be given the assignments," he said.

"At the end of every season, there will be a system like relegation and upgradation. Those who will be doing good, (say) 10 umpires will be upgraded to the next level.

"Those umpires who are at the upper level, if they are not performing up to the satisfactory level, they will be downgraded." "So this will make them very alert throughout the season and that will ultimately help the game of cricket, because some players' future depends on the decision of the umpires, so they have to be very competent and very alert," Saikia said.

Saikia said the BCCI will be giving its clarification on the matter of the Supreme Court's remarks on why should the national board and its state bodies be not brought under the National Sports Governance Act in the next hearing.

"Regarding the Sports Act, our stand is very clear, there are a lot of things which are yet to be done from the concerned authority," Saikia said.

"Once those exercises are completed, and once BCCI comes under the Sports Act, for that a particular notification has to be issued to make it a designated sport.

"Till that time, we are not supposed to do anything. Whenever that notification comes, immediately we will spring into action. We will do our work as per the new rules.