Sunil Gavaskar Angry As Cricket Australia Gives Yuzvendra Chahal And MS Dhoni USD 500
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Cricket Australia for the amount they handed to Man of the Match and Man of the Series following the conclusion of the third and final T20I between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Yuzvendra Chahal and MS Dhoni starred as India beat Australia by seven wickets to win the series 2-1.
India needed 231 to win the match which they managed to do in 49.2 overs with MS Dhoni remaining unbeaten on 87 while Kedar Jadhav scored an unbeaten 61. Chasing 231, India were in trouble after losing Virat Kohli with the scoreboard reading only 113 after 30 overs. However, Dhoni and Jadhav were involved in a 121-run unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket as India chased down the total quite easily in the end.
Earlier in the game, the bowlers did a fine job to bowl out Australia for just 230 inside 49 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal starred with the ball, picking up a record 6 wickets for 42 runs. His 6 for 42 are now the best bowling figures by a spinner in Australia in the ODIs. The Haryana-born star also beat the previous record held by current India coach Ravi Shastri to become the first spinner to take 6 wickets in an ODI on the Australia soil.
Chahal won the Man of the Match award for his 6-fer while Dhoni scooped the Man of the Series award for scoring three fifties in the series. Dhoni finished the series as India’s highest run-scorer, scoring 193 runs at a mind-boggling average of 193.
However, Sunil Gavaskar was not at all impressed with the amount of money received by Chahal and Dhoni from Cricket Australia. Both the players were handed cheques of USD 500 for their performances.
“What is USD 500 and it’s a pity that the team has got only a trophy. They (organisers) earn so much money through broadcast rights. Why can’t they give good prize money to the players? After all, players are the sole reason for the sport getting huge money (from sponsors),” Gavaskar said on ‘Sony Six’.
“Look at the prize money being given away at the Wimbledon (Championships). It’s phenomenal. The players are key in generating money, so they must be rewarded handsomely,” he added.
