The International Cricket Board currently has 12 full time member countries. Out of these, the Indian cricket board, BCCI, is the richest. But how did they become so?
You should know that there was once a time when the Indian cricket board was rarely able to pay their cricketers' match fees. When it was paid, it was paid after a delay. Back in the 1970's, an Indian cricketer got only 250 INR, or $3.50, to play in a test match, and even this small amount would not be paid to players on time.
When Nawab Patudi was captain of Indian cricket team, he declined to take his match fees becuase of delayed payment. He said instead that it would be good if they gave the money to his cobbler, who would surely need it more.
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When team went for play cricket , board officers stay in AC rooms but players stay at open ground. But players still play for country by wearing kit of thier own country.
So how did the BCCI end up as the richest?
In the 1990's, the Indian government changed its trade policy. From independence to the 90's, India had been a closed economy. But after the Indian government opened the market for the world, new companies started to invest in India. Many companies came.
In 1994, a new rule also declared that private TV channels were allowed to cover cricket live. After this, companies started to invest their money in players for advertising. Advertisement changed the shape and face of Indian cricket, opening the door for numerous types of investment that took cricket from the bottom to its peak.
It was during this time that Sachin Tendulker started to play cricket. These new rules of India changed the whole life of Sachin Tendulker, as they did for all Indian cricketers. In those days, Sachin was a star player, beloved by all Indian fans. Because of that, he was in high demand for advertisements. Back in 1994, Sachin was only paid 10,000 INR ($145) for a test match, and 6,500 INR ($100) for a one day match. By the time he retired in 2012, thanks to the new rules, he was being paid 700,000 INR ($10,000) for a test match, and 40,000 INR ($5,720) for a one day match.
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In those 18 years, Indian cricket changed at a rapid pace. After Pepsi beat Coca Cola to sponsor the 1996 World Cup, they hired Sachin to be the face of their advertisements as India grew to become the largest cricket market in the world. Other Indian cricketers began to receive the same benefits. You might be astonished to learn that Virat Kohli was paid 300,000 INR ($4,285) for pasting a MRF sticker on his bat for a match.
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But how did the Indian cricket board become so rich? First, you should know that BCCI got 28,449,225,000 INR ($406,417,500) from International Cricket Control from 2016 to 2023. It means approximately 355,000,000 INR ($50,714,285) per year. In comparison, England's cricket board will get only 81,000,000 INR, or $11,571,428.
But why is there such big difference in money distribution by the International Cricket Board? To be fair, the International Cricket Board gets 70% of their total earnings through the Indian Cricket Board. The other 11 countries combined pay only 30%. This makes the Indian Cricket Board the big boss of world cricket, and the 23% they receive is only a portion of their contribution.
Beyond this, the BCCI has other ways to earn huge money. In April 2018, an agreement was reached with Star Network for the BCCI to receive 12,000,000,000 INR ($171,428,571) over 5 years. In addition, they have the IPL, or Indian Premier League, which started in 2008. In 2017, this famous cricket league earned the BCCI 4,000,000,000 INR, or $57,142,857.
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Apart from this, there are many other financial avenues available. Sponsorship of matches and players' kit clothes sponsorship have become standard procedure in Indian cricket.