BCCI yet to release India women's $500,000 prize for reaching T20 World Cup final: Report

Even after 14 months of reaching the summit of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2020, the Indian women's cricket team is yet to receive the prize money of $500,000 from the BCCI, a report in The Telegraph has said. The Women in Blue had reached the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time in history and faced four-time champions Australia, who went on to win their fifth title at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The marquee event, held on Women's Day, witnessed an overwhelming crowd that stacked up the stadium, with record-breaking attendance. 

According to the report in The Telegraph, the BCCI holds the entire prize money which is yet to be awarded to the group of Indian cricketers that scaled up the summit back in 2020. The CEO of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, Tom Moffat told The Telegraph that the federation had been made aware of the issue in August 2020, which was then relayed to the International Cricket Council (ICC). Terming the act as 'unacceptable,' Moffat said that the federation encourages players in India to form a players' association for a collective representation in such matters. 

As per the norms, the ICC is responsible for paying the prize money within a week of the tournaments, which is usually directed to the team's governing bodies, in this case, the BCCI. This can be overlooked if in any case, the board asks ICC to pay the players directly. The total prize money awarded to India's women team for finishing second by the ICC is $500,000 which when divided between the 15 players in the squad, amounts to $33,000 each. The BCCI is yet to comment on the matter. 

Australia defeat India by 85 runs

In India vs Australia T20 World Cup final, the hosts walked out to bat first and posted a mammoth total for the Women in Blue to chase as they seemed clueless with the ball. Openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney wreaked havoc at the MCG, as they stitched a century-long partnership with Healy scoring 75 before falling to Yadav whereas Mooney remained unbeaten at 75. The target of 184 seemed a bit too much for India as they never got going. While the tournament's power-hitter Shafali Verma was dismissed for just 2, India was dealt with another blow as Taniya Bhatia walked back after sustaining an injury. 

Smriti Mandhana, after a few glorious shots, fell to Molineux while Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur walked back without any fight. Deepti Sharma raised hopes with a valiant knock of 33 runs but that wasn't just enough. India was skittled at 99 and lost the final by 85 runs as Australia lifted their fifth T20 title.