Gavaskar, Kumble, Dravid's earning not near to what players get now but they had hunger: Ganguly says money not all

Sourav Ganguly gave the examples of Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to talk about different eras of Indian cricket and explain his point. Ganguly said players "play for the pride of representing India".

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said "money can't be related" to the performances of the players. The former India captain gave the examples of Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to talk about different eras of Indian cricket and explain his point. Ganguly said players "play for the pride of representing India" when he was asked whether cricketers will now be interested more in IPL money than playing international cricket.

Rahul Dravid (L) and Sourav Ganguly. (Getty Images)

"First thing first, money can't be related to performances. From the times of Sunil Gavaskar to Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid, the money was nowhere close to what the players get now. But all of them had the hunger to perform. I don't think players will only play for the money. Players play for the stature they get and the pride of representing India. Every player would want to win big international tournaments," Ganguly told The Times of India.

Ganguly's comments came after the IPL broadcast rights were sold for a record amount. The India digital rights for IPL were acquired for ₹20,500 crore by Viacom18, which also won the non-exclusive Package C by paying ₹2,991 crore more.

BCCI fetched a whopping ₹48,390 crore (USD 6.20 billion) through IPL media rights for a five-year period, starting 2023. Disney Star retained their Indian sub-continent TV rights by paying ₹23,575 crore ( ₹57.5 crore/game).

The former India ODI opener said BCCI was planning for the media rights for the last couple of years and it was "meticulously done"

"The planning for the media rights started two years ago. It was meticulously done. It has been a great year for Indian cricket so far. We have completed the domestic season, have got packed houses back in stadiums, the IPL was wonderfully conducted and now this mega deal. I want to congratulate Disney-Star, Viacom18 and Times Internet for playing a part," said the former captain.

When asked whether BCCI will now push for a bigger window for IPL considering the large cash benefits it attracts, Ganguly said bilateral tours are needed for players of other countries and hence they will continue like before. Ganguly also confirmed that

"Bilateral tours will continue. The IPL is an Indian tournament. Bilateral tours are for the rest of the world to generate revenue. Players from other countries need bilateral series. For the next two years, IPL will continue to have 74 matches. The next Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle will have to be carefully worked out," he added.