Australia vs India: A surprising post-match presentation
The Australian summer is truly hot to handle, and the Indians made the Aussies feel it little more than ever. The juggernaut of Virat Kohli and co. was just unstoppable. They swept the host across formats, and that turned out to be their most dominated performance down under in the last 70 years.
Playing the last game of the tour, India were challenged with a modest total of 230 runs. In response, Aussies were quick enough to put India on backfoot with the early wickets. With Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and Shikhar Dhawan back in the hut, India were still 118 runs shy of the target. The platform was set for the Indian middle order to shine and lead the Indian team to a historic win.
So, who better than the maestro - MS Dhoni, to finish off things?
The wily veteran MS Dhoni, who has done it so many times for India, had everything calculated in his mind and as calm as ever, he took the Indian team with his partner, Kedar Jadhav, to a famous victory. The 53,000 spectators in Melbourne were all on their feet till the 100th over of the match and Dhoni didn't disappoint a single one. He was chosen Man of the Series for his three consecutive fifties.
What was unusual about the presentation ceremony?
It was time to witness something unusual and heart-warming together at the post-match presentation. Dhoni, Man of the Series and Yuzvendra Chahal, Man of the Match were handed over AUD 500 each for their magnificent performances in the post-match presentation. The heart-warming incident was that the players donated their prize money to a charity.
But at the same time, it was unusual to see the winning team while receiving winners' trophy, not being offered any prize money. It was a surprising decision coming from one of the richest cricket boards in the world cricket. Even more so, considering the lack of acknowledgment for the team which assisted the host association to generate a lot of funds or revenue during their tour.
Earlier, BCCI had already showered its love by announcing huge cash awards during their Test series victory. Where players were awarded ₹15 lakhs each per match, reserve players ₹7.5 lakhs per match and coaches ₹25 lakh.
The Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was also found very critical about the matter and lashed out at the host Australia for not honoring the Indian team.
Apart from selling their broadcasting rights in millions of dollars, generating a lot of revenue from sponsorship agreements and leveraging the athletes for their various social and marketing campaigns, the association receives enough funds for the smooth conduction of events.
Still, the main stakeholder of the cricket ecosystem - players, who are the prime reason for getting huge money on association's platter, were deprived of their share.
However, Cricket Australia may have their reasons reserved for this case, but there is no indignity in rewarding the opposition when they have given so much to remember for its people for years to come.