Backing the BCCI’s decision to implement the Test cricket incentive scheme, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged the national cricket board to introduce a similar scheme in the Ranji Trophy as well, saying it would encourage domestic players and look after the feeder system.

Earlier this month, the BCCI announced that those who play 75 percent of India’s Tests in a season will earn Rs 45 lakh per Test, and those who play 50 to 75 percent of Tests will earn Rs 30 lakh. This is in addition to the match fee of Rs 15 lakh.

“That is a wonderful thing by the BCCI to reward those who would be playing (Test cricket). But I would also request the BCCI to ensure that the feeder to the Test team, which is the Ranji Trophy, is also looked after,” he said.

The current match fee of a player in the Ranji Trophy is around Rs 2 lakh per match while the fee for the Vijay Hazare Trophy is Rs 50,000, and for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Rs 17,500.

“If the Ranji Trophy fee can be doubled or tripled, certainly there will be a lot more people playing the Ranji Trophy, (and a) lot less pullouts. They will all be wanting to play with the slab system – (if) every ten first-class matches you get that much more – so I would request the BCCI to look at that aspect as well,” the little master said.

Gavaskar also supported the BCCI’s directive to players to prioritise domestic cricket. “It is something that should be looked up (to) by every cricketer – domestic cricket is actually how they have come up. If they had not started at the domestic level, be it the domestic T20, the domestic one-day tournament or the Ranji Trophy, they wouldn’t be where they are.”

“Very few cricketers have actually come up from not having played domestic cricket. They always have played some domestic cricket – it could be junior cricket or Under-19 cricket or something like that. That is something the players should never forget,” he added.

Gavaskar also suggested a change in the domestic calendar, saying that the Ranji Trophy should be played from October to mid-December, and the domestic season should end with the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy so that players can get used to white ball cricket before the Indian Premier League.

Currently, the Ranji Trophy is the last tournament in the domestic calendar, and the 2023-24 season ended Mumbai lifting the Ranji Trophy for a record 42nd time on March 15, with the IPL starting from March 22.

“That way, everybody will be available to play (the Ranji Trophy), except for the ones featuring for India. There will be no real excuse to pull out. With the one-dayers beginning from January, people who are in the IPL can have enough practice from them,” Gavaskar said.