Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has questioned India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir over the CT 2025 prize money distribution pointing out that Rahul Dravid die not take more prize money than his fellow support staff after the 2024 T20 World Cup win.
The BCCI announced a cash prize of INR 58 crore for the Champions Trophy winning squad with the players and head coach Gautam Gambhir getting INR 3 crore each.
According to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, assistance coaches and support staff will get INR 50 lakh each, while BCCI officials will receive INR 25 lakh each.
Legendary India captain Sunil Gavaskar asked whether Gambhir will follow the example of his predecessor, Rahul Dravid, in returning to take more amount than his support staff.
“After the ICC T20 World Cup win and the Board announcement of prize money, the then-coach Rahul Dravid, ever the team man, refused to accept more than his fellow members of the coaching staff and, in fact, shared it equally with his colleagues,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
“It’s been a fortnight since the BCCI announced the Champions Trophy rewards, but we haven’t heard anything from the current coach on whether he will also do a Dravid. Or is it that Dravid, in this instance, is not a good role model?” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar went on to praise the BCCI for rewarding the cricketers for their Champions Trophy victory.
“Now, after our boys won the Champions Trophy, the BCCI announced a whopping ₹58 crore for the squad and the support staff and selection committee. In July last year, after the stirring victory in the ICC T20 World Cup, the BCCI announced ₹125 crore for the squad, support staff, and selectors,” he wrote.
“This is truly fantastic, as the Board, which is now awash with funds, is showing its appreciation for the efforts put in by everybody and rewarding them generously. The BCCI is also letting the players keep the prize money that the ICC announced for the winners, which is also a good amount each,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
