04 April,2011 07:26 AM IST | | Pathikrit Sen Gupta
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday announced rewards for the Indian cricket captain, along with Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli and Nehra, which would be paid out of the exchequer
After consummating the dreams and aspirations of a billion plus people, it's time for Dhoni and Co. to reap the rewards. In a country obsessed with cricket, everyone, including a politician, wants to be identified in some way with the winning moment.
Winners all: Since the victory, respective state governments have announced
rewards for the players. Pic/Suresh K. K.
So, a day after the Indian team won the World Cup, Delhi government announced cash rewards for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and four Delhi players in the squad - Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra and Virat Kohli.
"Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has announced a reward of Rs 2 crore for captain MS Dhoni, and Rs 1 crore each for Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, and Virat Kohli," a statement said.
Understandably, this amount will not come out of the pockets of the people in power. So, the question is, after the millions allegedly lost in the CWG muddle, can Delhi afford au00a0 Rs 6-crore dent in its coffers?
Analysts say Delhi government has been facing serious fund crunch due to huge spending on infrastructure projects linked to the Commonwealth Games. According to latest official estimates, about Rs 15,000 crore were spent by the city government for improving infrastructure facilities ahead of the sporting extravaganza, triggering an increase in various taxes to fill its near-empty coffers last year. "They are going overboard and squandering public money. At the end of the day the cricketers are doing their job. The problem is we get delirious easily," said an eminent economist, who did not wish to be named.
It's not just the Delhi government whose largesse is set to benefit the Men in Blue, already cash rich from their million-dollar advertising deals. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank too on Sunday announced a residential plot or a house each for Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Nishank has also decided to name a sports stadium proposed in Dehradun after Dhoni, he added.
While Tendulkar is a frequent visitor to Mussoorie, Dhoni's ancestral house is in Almora district of Uttarakhand.
In Dhoni's home state Jharkhand, Chief Minister Arjun Munda announced that land would be allotted to the local boy for a cricket academy. Congratulating Dhoni, Munda said: "Dhoni is a great player and we congratulate him for the victory of India in the World Cup after 28 years. The state government will provide a piece of land to Dhoni to set up a cricket academy and a school in Ranchi."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which functions as a registered society, has already announced a Rs 1 crore award to each member of the victorious Indian team. This after Dhoni and his boys got a cheque of about Rs 8.5 crore ($1.9 million) for winning the tournament. The event's total prize money was Rs 27 crore ($6 million).
On the other hand, the state of the national sport is well known. Here's an interesting comparison - in September 2007, India won both the Hockey Asia Cup and T20 Cricket World Cup. The cricket team received Rs 2 crore as tournament prize money. BCCI announced Rs 8 crore for the players. Players received cash awards up to Rs. 21 lakh from their respective state governments.
As for the hockey players, individual greetings were sent by the President of India. IHF had announced an incentive for the team where they would receive Rs 1000 for every goal scored and lose Rs 2000 for every goal conceded. Most state governments did not even send a congratulatory note to the players, forget about prizes and rewards. (With inputs from Surender Sharma and Shashank Shekhar)
Privacy issues!
The BCCI is a society registered under Tamil Nadu Registered Societies Act 1975 and structurally incorporated as a private charitable society. It functions as a 'private club membership' where members are introduced by others and pay an annual fee.
Strikng it rich
Here's how much our top cricketers make out of brand endorsements:
MS Dhoni
Represents nineteen brands including Aircel, Pepsico, Maxx mobile, Sony India, Reebok, etc.
Total Rs 6-7 cr p.a.
Sachin Tendulkar
Represents sixteen brands from different categories like Aviva, Canon, Boost, Reynolds, Adidas, ITC, Future Group, RBS, Toshiba, Ujala, Luminous, Amit Enterprises, Audemars Piguet, Jaypee, etc.
Total Rs 4-5 cr p.a.
Yuvraj Singh
Represents brands like Reebok, Revital, Parachute, and Birla Sun Life Insurance, etc. He started charging 25-30 per cent higher in the run-up to the World Cup.
Total Rs 2-3 cr p.a.
The new master!
Last year Dhoni left Sachinu00a0 trailing by snapping up a whopping Rs 210 crore - that is Rs 2.10 billion (about $42 million) - endorsement deal with Rhiti Sports Management Private Limited and Mindscapes. Tendulkar's three-year deal with sports management firm Iconix, which was signed in 2006, was worth Rs 180 crore (Rs 1.8 billion). The batting legend's earlier contract was worth Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion); a five-year deal with WorldTel, signed in 2001.
What about the National sport?
In January 2010 top hockey players skipped practice for several days ahead of the world cup after the interim hockey board, Hockey India, failed to pay them their dues. "We get USD 14 as our per day allowance when we tour abroad. That's the amount on which we can't even afford a cup of coffee," a player said.u00a0 u00a0Captain Rajpal Singh and senior players Prabhjot Singh, Dipak Thakur, Adrian D'Souza and Arjun Halappa said the HI offer of Rs 25,000 per player would suit a school side and not a national team and the rebel players are mentally prepared to leave the training camp. The situation was finally resolved after the intervention of Suresh Kalmadi and Sahara, the sponsor for the team, paid US$220,000 to the players. The Indian men's hockey team is the most successful hockey team in Olympic history with 8 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
