‘First-class players to get contracts’

NEW DELHI: In a move that could signal a major shift in Indian cricket, newly-elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said that the board will bring in “a contract system” for first-class cricketers, and that the new finance sub-committee will be asked to put the process in place for it to happen.

“We will bring in a contract system for first-class cricketers,” Ganguly told PTI in an interview. “We (office-bearers) will ask the new finance committee to prepare a contract system.

“It’s just been four-five days (since he took charge) and in between there was a Diwali break. It will take about two weeks to assess everything and move forward. There is a lot of work going on.”

Even before he had been formally appointed to the position, Ganguly had said that domestic cricket, and cricketers, would be a major area of focus for him in his stint at the BCCI, which will be for a ten-month period before he serves the mandatory three-year cooling-off period for completing six consecutive years at a state association and/or at the BCCI. “My biggest priority will be to look after first-class cricketers,” he had said.