Gautam Gambhir didn't risk losing money had he opted out of Kolkata Knight Riders' last match in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the elimination tie against hosts Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
By reporting 'fit' before his team's first match and with the Knight Riders making it to the playoffs in IPL 4, Gambhir had assured himself of the entire $2.4 million (R11.04 crore) he fetched during the January players auction. Had he missed a few IPL matches due to injury, he would still have got that amount.
"The moment a player reports fit to the camp before the first match, he becomes entitled to 80% of the sum due to him. Even if he gets injured in the first match and misses the remainder of the season, we are committed to paying him that amount," a KKR official, preferring anonymity because he isn't authorised to speak to the media, told HT on Friday.
According to him, the remaining payment of the remaining sum would depend on the player's availability for the Champions League, should the team qualify for the competition scheduled for October. Being the fourth-placed team in IPL 4, KKR will play the Champions League T20 qualifiers introduced this year.Assuming Gambhir aggravated the shoulder injury after KKR made it to the play-offs and he had skipped that tie, he wouldn't have been docked money. And he won't be either if he reports fit for the Champions League qualifiers, said the official.
{{/usCountry}}According to him, the remaining payment of the remaining sum would depend on the player's availability for the Champions League, should the team qualify for the competition scheduled for October. Being the fourth-placed team in IPL 4, KKR will play the Champions League T20 qualifiers introduced this year.Assuming Gambhir aggravated the shoulder injury after KKR made it to the play-offs and he had skipped that tie, he wouldn't have been docked money. And he won't be either if he reports fit for the Champions League qualifiers, said the official.
{{/usCountry}}The Board of Control for Cricket in India officials were not available for comment and other IPL team officials didn't want to go on record citing a gag order from the board. However, on condition of anonymity, an official of another franchise and a player confirmed the structure of payment.