Since its inception in 1934-35, Ranji Trophy has been the most prestigious tournament in the Indian domestic circuit. The tournament has helped the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) identify talents to represent the national team. The board continues to value the teams at the domestic circuit’s top level.
In a significant development, the Indian cricket board hiked the pay cheque for the Ranji Trophy winners. The winners from the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season onwards, slated to get underway from January next year, will receive a cheque of INR 5 crore. The amount marks an increase of INR 3 crore, with the winners paid INR 2 crore till the last season. Meanwhile, the runners-up and losing finalists will receive INR 3 crore and INR 1 crore, respectively.
However, there is no pay hike for the players in the Ranji Trophy. The per-day salary for each player in the Ranji Trophy is INR 35,000. Notably, the league-stage matches in Ranji Trophy are four days, while the knock-out matches are five. Each team features in seven matches in the league stage, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
Financially, if a match lasts four days in a league stage, the player earns INR 140,000 per match, up to 175,000 in the knock-out stage. If a player features in all league stage matches, he can rake up to INR 560,000. If the team qualifies for the final, he can earn an additional INR 525,000, besides the bonuses offered.
Apart from the Ranji Trophy, the Indian cricket board announced an overall hike for the winners of the domestic tournaments. For instance, the Senior Women’s One-Day trophy winners will now rake up INR. 50 lakh is more than 7x higher than their previous pay of INR. 6 lakh. The runners-up will, meanwhile, earn INR 25 lakh.
There is a substantial boost for the Irani Cup winners, too, with the prize cheque doubled to INR 50 lakh. Interestingly, the runners-up will receive INR 25 lakh for the first time. The champions of the Duleep Trophy will earn INR 1 crore, while the runners-up will receive INR 50 lakh.
The winners in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will earn INR 1 crore, while the second-best team will receive INR 50 lakh. The champions of the Deodhar Trophy will get richer by INR 40 lakh, while the losing finalists will get INR 20 lakh.
Similarly, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy winners will earn a cheque of INR 80 lakh, and the losing team will get INR 40 lakh.
