India v New Zealand, 2nd ODI, Kotla: Delhi's groundsman denied 'reward' money

NEW DELHI: The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) again finds itself in a tricky situation ahead of an international fixture at the Ferozeshah Kotla. This time, there is simmering discontent among the ground staff over the association not paying them their share of prize money for producing the best ground and pitch in this year's IPL.
The DDCA had announced in June that every penny of the Rs.12.5 lakh coming in from the board would be distributed among the ground staff - including technicians who worked with the electrical department. But with two days to go for the One-day International between Indian and New Zealand here, the ground staff is still waiting for the share.
"Every groundsman was supposed to get around Rs 40,000-50,000 while curator Ankit Datta was slated to pocket around Rs 1.5 lakh. The sum is equal to some of the groundsman's two months' salaries. They have made plans with the festive season around. They are getting agitated," a DDCA official told TOI.
However, the DDCA has cited that it is yet to receive the amount from the Indian cricket board (BCCI). "We are still waiting for BCCI to transfer the funds to our account. Even the funds earned from hosting the World T20 matches haven't arrived," DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said on Monday.
On the BCCI website, where every payment made in excess of Rs 25 lakh is mentioned, there is a declaration that IPL prize money payments have been made till August. The groundstaff had gone on an indefinite strike days ahead of the World T20 earlier this year owing to delayed salaries. While the DDCA top brass is confident that nothing of that sort will happen this time around, it did concede that the staff has started voicing their discontent louder of late.