In its bid to encourage cricketers to give importance to first-class cricket, the BCCI has announced a “Test Cricket Incentive Scheme” that will increase a player’s match fee by 300 per cent if he features in 75 per cent or more Tests during a season. The scheme has been backdated to include the 2022-23 season as well.

In a social media post, made soon after India’s 4-1 series victory in Dharamsala, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah emphasised that this was a “step aimed at providing financial growth and stability” to Test players.

“The ‘Test Cricket Incentive Scheme’ is a progressive move to acknowledge the significance of Test cricket. This pioneering initiative is intricately aligned with our broader vision, which is focussed around the promotion of Test cricket as the undisputed pinnacle of the sport. As we embark on this journey, we are not only recognizing the invaluable contributions of our players but also fostering an environment that values and prioritizes the essence of the traditional format of the game,” Shah said.

“This scheme is designed to inspire our cricketers to contribute their absolute best to the longer format of the game. It is a recognition of the unique challenges and demands that Test cricket poses, and through this initiative, we seek to not only reward excellence but also cultivate a renewed passion for the purest form of the sport,” he added.

According to the new scheme, players featuring in 50-75 per cent of Tests in a season will stand to earn Rs 30 lakh per Test (in addition to their match fees), while those who play in less than 50 per cent of the games will not be eligible for the scheme. This incentive, however, isn’t linked to BCCI’s annual retainers, which is a separate component.

Welcoming the move, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid said: “Hope money is not going to be the incentive to play Test cricket. It is nice to see that it is a recognition that it is a hard format. Nice that BCCI is recognising that. It is a reward not an incentive.”

Late last month, while announcing the annual retainers for 2023-24 that increased the player pool from the existing 26 to 30, the board hadn’t mentioned the amounts for the four contract categories, but is likely to be hiked. Last year, players in the A+ bracket earned Rs 7 crore, A earned Rs 5 crore, B took home Rs 3 crore, and C got Rs 1 crore.

The development comes at a time where the BCCI has sent out a clear message to players to prioritise domestic – especially first-class-cricket.

In a letter addressed to all contracted players, BCCI secretary Jay Shah asked players to “prove” themselves in domestic cricket if they aspired to play for the country and warned that non-participation would have “severe implications”.

This came in the wake of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer choosing to skip the Ranji Trophy for their respective teams despite not being in the national team.