I really used to be a staunch advocate of sharing of prize moneys equally with all the members of the team including the support staff which include the physiotherapist and administrative manager. I always thought that each member contributes to the success of the team. But now I have a complete change of mind over this issue. How can the reserve players who did not play a single match during the World get the same amount as Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Or take the case of Dinesh Mongia. He gobbled Rs. 69 lakhs for scoring less than 69 runs during the World Cup! The senior players are the backbone of the Indian team for so long. They are also a great source of inspiration to this younger lot. It is high time that BCCI introduces the gradation system that the senior players are demanding for quite long. Those players who have been contributing so much and for so long must get their dues in proper proportion. Since I was the one who pioneered the sharing of prize money in 70s, the reason I am advocating graded payment is the fact that the prize money today has increased by many folds as compared to my playing days. I remember that for the first time a cash prize for the best batsman an best bowlers was announced during the ’69 series against Australia. Having won first two Test matches, the Aussie captain, Bill Lawry blurted that he would finish the next Test at Delhi in three days and go for fishing in the nearby Badkhal Lake. The result turned out to be other way. The match got over in three days and I got the best batsman award. I thought everyone contributed in that glorious victory. Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prassanna bowled exceedingly well to get Aussies out cheaply. In fact, Bishan as a night watchman stayed with me for more than two-and-a-half hours on the wicket. The fielders also held some brilliant catches. I therefore, approached my captain, Nawab of Pataudi and asked if the cash award should be shared with the team. Skipper agreed and this continues till date though there might be slight variations in distribution. Perhaps, we were not that money minded or may be, cash received by way of prize moneys was less. Today the money a cricketer makes is astronomical. I was told that when the Indian team played the home series in the good old days, the players used to get only Rs.150 and travel in the first class of the train. The allowances were raised to Rs.250 during Nari Contractor’s time. I don’t think anybody should question the rewards these present day cricketers are getting. They deserve it if they play consistently like they played in the recent World Cup. And for that the prize money should be performance based.
