Widows of some of India's finest players will receive a benefit purse from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wenesday evening, as reported by India Today.
"All those former cricketers who played for the country in an era when there was no money also deserved some comfort. They were all big names, like Vijay Manjrekar, Vijay Merchant, Dattu Phadkar, Vinoo Mankad, and Dilip Sardesai, and all great contributors to Indian cricket."
"Their families too deserve some recognition," BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said.
"They would have been great had they played even in this era. There's a lot of money in cricket and also in other sports; there’s nothing wrong in it. But these greats played in an era when there was not much recognition and no money."
"And they had to work hard for their living to take care of their families," said the former Madhya Pradesh captain.
In addition to this list, family members of Ghulam Ahmed and ML Jaisimha, both of whom were based in Hyderabad, would also receive cheques of Rs.15 lakh each.
Apart from this, one-time benefit cheques have been distributed to all those players who have played at least 75 First-Class matches and Test Matches during this year’s Indian Premier League in May.
Jagdale who is believed to be behind the benefit scheme, said that this gesture of BCCI was warmly embraced.
"We have received a lot of emails and letters, and also phone calls, including widows of players who benefitted, thanking the BCCI. But there were some cases where this[one-time benefit] was not mentioned," he pointed out.
Also at the function, former India Captain and one of the most prolific run scorers, Sunil Gavaskar will be awareded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award which will comprise of a trophy a citation and a cheque for Rs.25 lakhs.
All the former India captains and the Indian and English teams, in the city for the second Test match, have been invited for the evening function.
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