The Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen prize money for the winners and runners-up slashed in half as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed various cost-cutting measures.
The IPL is the world's richest and most popular Twenty20 league, attracting star cricketers from India and around the world. The latest edition is scheduled to start on March 29.
As well as halving prize money for the top two teams, Indian media reports said the BCCI was doing away with the extravagant opening ceremony.
"The financial rewards have been reworked as a part of the cost-cutting measures," the BCCI said in a circular sent to the franchises.
As a result, the champions will get $1.36 million (Dh5m) instead of $2.72m.
"The franchises are all in good health. They also have multiple ways like sponsorships to bolster their income. Hence the decision on prize money taken," the Press Trust of India quoted a senior BCCI source as saying.
Each of the eight franchises will also have to shell out $68,119 to the state association for each game it hosts, up from $27,197.
The moves have not gone down well with some of the franchise owners, the Times of India said.
The IPL has been hailed as a commercial success since its debut in 2008, and has inspired similar Twenty20 leagues in other countries.
It has also triggered a debate over whether players were giving preference to clubs ahead of their countries, given the large paydays on offer.
Australia's Pat Cummins went for $2.17m in this year's IPL auction. Players keep about 75 per cent of their auction price - effectively their salary for the two-month season.
In 2017, Star India paid about $2.5 billion for five years of broadcast rights, the biggest TV deal seen in cricket.
