MUMBAI: The upcoming domestic season is set to bring in some good news for match officials in domestic cricket.The Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to raise the match fees of domestic umpires and match referees from the 2026-27 season, which will resume after the Duleep Trophy with the Ranji Trophy -the premier red-ball domestic competition- on Oct 11.“We have decided to revise the pay structure of domestic umpires and match referees from the 2026-27 domestic season. We have also decided to restructure the panel of domestic umpires,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Thursday.It’s learnt that at an “appropriate forum,” the BCCI decided to introduce a gradation system for the domestic umpires.“The domestic umpires will be divided into four grades-A, B, C and D. Grades A and B will be reserved for umpires officiating in senior domestic tournaments, while the other two grades will have umpires standing in junior tournaments,” a source tracking developments told this paper.Incidentally, the BCCI is set to hold its Annual General Meeting at its HQ here on Friday.Currently, for the top 20 domestic umpires of the BCCI, the per day fee is Rs 40,000. For the rest of the BCCI domestic umpires, the fee is Rs 30,000. For T20 matches, the per-day fee is Rs 20,000. Their daily allowance is Rs 1,500 for officiating in outstation matches, and from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for local officials.
