BCCI revises pay structure for umpires, introduces promotion-relegation system

The BCCI has restricted the categories of the umpires while enhancing their per-day pay “substantially,” along with that of the match referees, while introducing a promotion-relegation system based on merit, the board’s secretary Devajit Saikia informed on Friday.

Saikia said there was no revision of the fees for the umpires and match referees for nearly a decade, which has been done now.

While details weren’t furnished, currently, for senior domestic tournaments, umpires in the top two grades get Rs 40,000 and Rs 30,000 per day, respectively, while for T20 games, the amount is Rs 20,000.

But the revised payments will be Rs 60,000, Rs 50,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 35,000 per day as per grades A, B, C and D. “For almost 10 years from 2017-18, there was no revision of the fees of the umpires, so we have done a restructuring of their categories,” Saikia told reporters here after the BCCI’s AGM here on Friday.

“Earlier there were four categories, A+, A, B and C. Now we have restructured it as A, B, C and D. All their fees per-day has been enhanced substantially. As match referee is concerned, we have also upgraded their fees and revised their fee structure,” he added.

Saikia said under an “umpires board”, the umpires will be posted as per the assessment of their merit and accordingly, they would be promoted and relegated in domestic cricket.

“All their postings will be done as per their merits. We have an assessing team under the umpires board. They will assess the umpires. According to their merit, they will be given the assignments,” he said.

“At the end of every season, there will be a system like relegation and upgradation. Those who will be doing good, (say) 10 umpires will be upgraded to the next level.