KOLKATA: BCCI’s decision to reduce the prize money for the IPL is understood to have been taken without keeping the franchises in the loop. It is reliably learnt that the topic was not even discussed in the previous IPL Governing Council meeting, and all the communication they’d received regarding this topic were only sent through email.
After a meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday, BCCI office-bearers had arrived at the decision to reduce the prize money for the playoffs by 50 per cent. While IPL winners received `20 crore last year, this time they will only get `10 crore. Even the money for the runners-up and third-placed team were halved. Similarly, the franchises now have to pay state associations `50 lakh per match for hosting them, as against the `30 lakh they paid till IPL 12.
“They have reduced the costs, saying that the market value is down. But they have increased it for us. If they discussed in the governing council, then there could have been a few negotiations. Now that they have decided, we have no choice,” an IPL franchise official said. BCCI is also having a rethink over the fee they pay other boards for releasing players for IPL.
As of now, the Indian body shells out 20 per cent of player fee. That could now be reduced to 10 per cent, with franchises possibly bearing the entire cost.