Uttarakhand announces contracts and scholarships to first-class players

New Indian
cricket board president Sourav Ganguly has said bringing all first-class
players in the country under contracts to ensure their financial security was
his priority and BCCI’s latest unit.

 Uttarakhand has taken the lead, announcing it
will offer contracts and scholarships to players at all levels.

The final
decision will be taken once BCCI releases its guidelines and will come into effect
after March, when the domestic season ends and the performers among senior men
and women are picked.

Even if the
BCCI decides not to introduce contracts, the state will go ahead with its own
formula, a top official of Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) said.

Uttarakhand,
inducted into the BCCI fold in August, also announced scholarships for
performing under 16 and under 19 players. It announced a scholarship of Rs10,000
per month for two under 16 players, batsman Vanshaj Chauhan and left-arm
spinner Mohammed Farhan, for performances this season.

It will pay
the same amount to performers at under 19 level once the season ends. The
maximum scholarships at junior level for both boys and girls are five each.

“There is no
fixed number for contracted players at the senior level. The association has
decided it will award performers. This initiative was needed because at the
junior level, the equipment is expensive and kids find it difficult to buy, official
said.

At senior
level, there are no jobs and no security for first-class players. There is uncertainty,
so we wanted to ensure some level of security,” the official added.