India’s Cup winners wanted more cash: report

Thursday, 21 April 2011 00:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NEW DELHI, April 20, 2011 (AFP) - India’s World Cup-winning cricket team expected five times more cash than they received as a reward for their efforts from their governing body, a newspaper report said Wednesday.

India won the April 2 final, beating Sri Lanka at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, in a result that unleashed more than a week of celebrations across the country.

After the stunning win, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awarded each member of the 15-man squad a bonus of 10 million rupees ($225,300).

But according to the Indian Express some players requested 50 million rupees ($1,126,600) on the grounds that they deserved more.

“We are not greedy for the money,” one anonymous player told the newspaper. “But these (junior) players have made the BCCI rich and famous.

“There is no harm in asking for more especially since the Board will earn (millions) after India’s victory. A player’s life is very uncertain. Who knows what will happen next?”

The report stated that BCCI rejected the request. However a string of state governments and private companies showered the team with plots of land, luxury houses and cash.