Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has granted an additional sum of Rs 3 Crores to Indian Cricketer’s Association to run the player’s body in a hustle-free manner. ICA President Ashok Malhotra satisfactorily announced the news and hoped all their pending demands will be met sooner than later.
Malhotra and his board’s officials have earlier demanded a set of requests to the BCCI, which included the funding of Rs 5 Crore, pensions to the former players who have played 25 or lesser first-class games, allowances for widows of former cricketers, and a benevolent fund to Manoj Prabhakar. Prabhakar was banned by the Indian board on match-fixing charges and his ban was ended in 2005.
ICA is India’s first-ever players’ association formed as per recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha panel. The board was granted Rs 2 crores by the BCCI in February to kickstart its operations. The cricket board decided to release an additional Rs 3 Crore during the Annual General Meeting on December 24.
The Indian board has also increased the medical insurance of former players from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs, which was also one of the demands of ICA’s list. Malhotra, who has been critical of BCCI in the past for not addressing their demands, was pleased with BCCI’s latest allotments.
The ICA President is delighted with the latest sanctions by BCCI. He said, “We are thankful to the BCCI and secretary Jay Shah for addressing our demands. The whole amount has been released. Medical insurance cover has been doubled. I am confident our other demands will be met soon. I am also told that a committee has been formed to look into revision in players’ pension.”