Pic Showing Salaries Of Indian Cricketers In 1983 Viral

The game of cricket, over the years, has emerged as an important aspect of discussion along with politics and movies in India. Once called gentleman’s game, the sport has successfully taken over the Indian masses with its charm and wealth, at least in India. What seemed to be a distant dream for many across the country is now an ardent ambition.

This evolution of cricket in India, however, was not very easy. The game, before the 80s, was not considered a great career option by many because of its low earnings and revenue generation. A user on X recently shared an image that showed how much the Indian cricketers used to make in 1983 – a turnaround year for Indian cricket – and you will be surprised when the amount is placed against the likes of Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli.

In the image, it can be seen that the then-Indian captain Kapil Dev got a match fee of Rs 1500 along with a daily allowance of Rs 600. In 1983, cricket players received the same match fee, but today, the BCCI determines players’ earnings based on their grades through annual contracts.

The Indian Cricket Board, one of the world’s wealthiest sporting bodies, offers contracts in four grades: A+, A, B and C. The annual fee for Grade C players is Rs 1 crore, Grade A+ cricketers get Rs 7 crore, Grade A cricketers get Rs 5 crore and Grade B cricketers get Rs 3 crore. Notably, only four players, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah hold A+ grade contracts. In addition to annual retainerships, players receive match fees and substantial allowances, with ODIs fetching Rs 6 lakh, T20s Rs 3 lakh and Test matches Rs 15 lakh per game.

Sunil Valson, a member of the 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning team, mentioned that each player received around Rs 25,000 after winning the World Cup. He said, “The monetary reward was not significant at that time as playing for India was a matter of pride in itself.”

While India has won the ICC Cricket World Cup twice in 1983 and 2011, they have finished as runners-up twice in 2003 and 2023.