ICC To Launch Multi-Million Dollar Fund To Save Test Cricket: Report

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to put out a fund of USD 15 million for the longest format as that will help to increase the match fees of the players and also acknowledge the potential migration of talented players from T20 franchise leagues. Cricket Australia came up with this idea and was backed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is all set to become the next ICC chairman, as per a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.

This fund will increase the minimum match fees of Test players and also cover the cost of the team going on overseas tours. This will also help boards like the West Indies, who are currently struggling to keep up with the match fees, which are being provided by the T20 franchise leagues.

"The fund would ensure a minimum Test payment for all players, thought to be USD 10,000, and pay the costs of overseas tours for struggling countries," the report said.

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"It's fantastic to see some momentum behind the Test match fund," Mike Baird, who is the chairman of Cricket Australia said while coming up with the idea earlier this year.

"We need to take away the barriers and encourage Test cricket to be the best of the best. To retain that history and that legacy, which goes alongside the newer forms of white ball cricket," he revealed.

This fund won't be benefitting the three richest cricket boards- Australia, India, and England, as they already give sufficient match fees to their players.

But at the same time, the amount of money ICC has saved up for this format would also depend on the dispute with broadcaster Star, as per the report.

The Star network is interested in renegotiating a 2022 broadcast deal that they made with the ICC and decreasing its value to half of its original price of more than USD 3 million.

The BCCI came up with a scheme for the Men in Blue in March this year, where it tried to motivate the players to prioritize the longest format and also reward those players who are performing consistently in this format.

As per this scheme, whoever plays for 75 percent of India's Test matches in a year, would be paid a whopping amount of Rs 45 lakh per match along with the Test match fees of Rs 15 lakhs.