The sporting industry has been hit hard by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with events all across the globe suspended until the situation resolves. The Indian cricket team’s recent assignments were cancelled while dark clouds loom large over the future of the Indian Premier League (IPL) too. While international football stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are set to incur pay cuts, as a result of the coronavirus crisis, things are likely to be the same for Virat Kohli & Co.
Messi and Barcelona teammates will reportedly take 70 percent less salary from the club which has found it tough to generate revenues considering the absence of sporting action in Spain. In Italy, Juventus had recently announced that the likes of Ronaldo, manager Maurizio Sarri, as well as rest of the teammates will incur pay cuts to help the club and several employees survive the COVID-19 storm.
“The BCCI is the parent body of the cricketers. It’s a company. If a company is making losses, then it all filters down. In Europe, almost all the footballers, normally paid the highest among all, are taking a huge pay cut, which has been announced by their associations. This was an unexpected scenario. These are very tough times. So, everyone will have to try and contribute from their pocket. I know it’s not fair to reduce the salaries of the players, but if the parent body is not earning as much as it was doing before, the cricketers will definitely have to expect a pay cut,” Malhotra, who has also represented the Indian team in 7 Tests and 20 ODIs for India, was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
With there being no doubt that the IPL remains one of the biggest revenue-generating platforms for the BCCI, hopes in the Indian cricket fraternity would be to not let the T20 league being cancelled altogether. A shorter-version with a deferred schedule still remains a part of the contingency plan.
