Ahmedabad: Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) boss, Jay Shah while speaking at a function of Volleyball Association advised players to play final matches like normal matches. He also advised players to focus just on performance and statistics for their selection. Shah also spoke about how the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) faced criticism while making the world’s largest cricket stadium due to lack of funds for that, but how GCA is now enjoying surplus fund. Shah also spoke about how he decided to increase the fees of women’s cricket players.

Shah in his Gujarati speech said – ‘When it comes to medal, I have a memory to share. I spoke to the under-19 cricket team through video conference one day before they won gold and I told them that play the final match as if it is not a final match but a normal match. So I request that play the final match like a normal match, and no one can stop you from winning it.’

‘I have some advice for gold winners once you win a gold medal, then concentrate on how to win gold in the next tournament.’

‘We have to make sure that the Volleyball team qualifies in the next Olympics, especially when we are trying to host the Olympics in India in 2036.’

‘When I entered BCCI, there was a big difference in fees paid to men and women. I said we can’t do gender discrimination and then we made equal fees for men and women through one single decision. The fees for the one-day cricket match were increased from Rs. 1 lakh to 6 lakh, for T20 Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh, and for the test match Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh. All women cricket players can get Rs. 40 lakh annually and if they play in all formats then they can get as high as Rs. 3.5 crore annually now.’

‘BCCI doesn’t take government grants and pay thousands of crores worth of tax and cooperate with the government. Same way Volleyball players also should work so hard that the game becomes Atmanirbhar.’

‘In the year 2009, Narendrabhai Modi took over the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) with Amitbhai Shah as his deputy and the situation of Men’s cricket was very bad. Then by focusing on proper nutrition, and the appointment of good coaches, we could proudly win the Ranji trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, and the Vijay Hazare tournament, all three. In addition to this, we won 100s of prizes at junior levels.’

‘In year 2017, when we started building the Narendra Modi stadium, the expenditure was pegged at Rs. 600 crore, while the deposit with GCA was Rs. 300 crore. Thus we faced Rs. 300 crore debt. We were criticized and some would say there was no need for such a big stadium in the city, but once we are dedicated to a cause, none can stop us. In the year 2021, the President of India inaugurated the stadium and then BCCI brought matches to the venue today the figure of the deposit is more than the debt.’

‘None would be able to stop you if you have dedication, hard work, nutrition, and sufficient sleep. Some players complain about selection, but if you perform well, if your statistics are good, then no one will be able to stop you. These are the very important criteria. Neeraj Chopra, Virat Kohli, Dhoni, and Pragyananda don’t need recommendations. Their statistics are so good.’

‘Modi sir has a vision that money generated through cricket should be utilized in other sports too. GCA has in its campus developed a Sports complex at a cost of Rs. 40 crore for 40 types of different games. There are 3 Volleyball fields also there which can be utilized by players.’ DeshGujarat