Hardik Pandya's return to cricket just before the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) has elicited a comment from former India player Praveen Kumar. In an online interview, Praveen Kumar spoke out against Pandya seemingly prioritizing matches in the cash-rich cricket league over state and India fixtures.
"You get injured two months before the IPL, you don't play for the country, you don't play for your state in domestic cricket, and just directly play in the IPL. That's not how things should be done. It's okay to earn money, there's nothing wrong with that. But you have to play for state and country and now people only give importance to the IPL)," Praveen Kumar said in the now viral interview clip.
Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya is all set to take over the captaincy of five-time Indian Premier League winner Mumbai Indians from Rohit Sharma this year. Pandya first came into the spotlight thanks to the IPL - he had made his IPL debut with the Mumbai Indians in 2015.
Pandya, who was ruled out of India's very successful campaign in the five-Test series against England in February and March 2024 as he was still recovering from an ankle injury, has joined the Mumbai franchise in training ahead of the team's first IPL fixture this year on Sunday, March 25. (Mumbai Indians will take on the Gujarat Titans at the Titans's home stadium - the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad - on Sunday.)
To be sure, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) pays a handsome fee to players for each match they play for India. Recently the cricket board revised player salary for Test matches - players will now get incentives over the set match fee of Rs 15 lakh. BCCI has also set the match fee at Rs 6 lakh per match for One Day Internationals and Rs 3 lakh for T20I matches.
I am pleased to announce the initiation of the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' for Senior Men, a step aimed at providing financial growth and stability to our esteemed athletes. Commencing from the 2022-23 season, the 'Test Cricket Incentive Scheme' will serve as an additional… pic.twitter.com/Rf86sAnmukRelated stories
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) March 9, 2024
Having said that, the IPL is the world's richest cricket league, and the second-most valuable league in any sport in the world (the most valuable is America's National Football League). The IPL became a decacorn or $10 billion franchise in 2023, up from $8.4 billion in 2022.
The Mumbai Indians got Pandya from the Gujarat Titans in a transfer deal, for Rs 15 crore.
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