When Vikrant Keni, who led the Indian team to its maiden Physical Disability T20 World Series in England last year, and teammate Gurudas Raut were invited by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly & Co to the Cricket Centre on March 4 to receive the token cheque of R65 lakh as prize money for their flawless performance, their achhe din may have begun to look like coming true.

A few weeks later, India went into lockdown to fight against the dreadful Coronavirus and the 18-player team have not received their share of R3 lakh each. The Indian cricket board has yet to release the payment but say the players will receive their dues soon.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had approved the prize money for the Indian physically challenged team before their term ended last October. With most of the players from the T20 World Series-winning squad living a hand-to-mouth existence, they feel the BCCI prize money would make a huge difference to them especially in these COVID-19 pandemic-caused testing times.

All-rounder Ramesh Naidu, 24, whose father M Ramu earns R15,000 from driving cars at Vijaya Medical Centre in Visakhapatnam, is finding it difficult to cope with the lockdown. "My family is completely dependent on my father's income. It's difficult to manage during this period," said Naidu, who is in his last year of M Tech (Master of Technology) in Electrical Engineering at IIT Chennai. Naidu had taken an education loan of Rs 4.5 lakh.

Wasim Khan, who hails from the turbulent Kashmir region, was banking on the prize money to cope with the lockdown.

"With no job, it's quite tough to exist. My elder brother is a lawyer but he is without any work at the moment. We have some groceries at home but I don't know how long they will last. We have got no help from anyone. It will be a big relief if BCCI releases our prize money soon," said Wasim, who had scored a match-winning 40-ball 79 in the semi-final against Pakistan.

Hard-hitting batsman Sudanese Mahendaran, 29, who changed the complexion of the game in the final against England with his 11-ball 33, said the lockdown has rendered his family income-less. "There has been no income for the last month as my father has not been able to ride his auto rickshaw due to the lockdown. My close friends are helping us out," said the Tamil Nadu lad.

Bengal-based wicketkeeper batsman Debabrata Roy, 31, is confident BCCI president Ganguly will rescue the players. "I was earning R8,000 till last month as a salesman at a cloth store. I am sure Dada [Ganguly] will look into our problems," said Roy.

Left-arm spinner Anish Rajan, who was India's highest wicket-taker (11) in the tournament, has had his share of suffering in the lockdown.

Skipper Vikrant Keni (right) and teammate Gurudas Raut with the R65 lakh cheque they received from the BCCI in March. Pic/ Suresh Karkera

A mechanical engineer by profession, Rajan quit his job in 2015 to pursue a career in cricket.

"My dream was to play for India. I play as a professional for Tripunithura Cricket Club in Kochi and I also officiate in matches as umpire or scorer. However, due to the lockdown, there has been no source of income," he said.

Skipper Keni, who is lucky to have a steady source of income, sympathised with the financial condition of some of his teammates. "Most of the players from my team are struggling as they have no jobs. I think the BCCI prize money is taking time due to the lockdown," said Palghar-based Keni.

BCCI's General Manager Cricket Operations, Syed Saba Karim told mid-day on Friday that the prize money will be remitted in a couple of days. "It has been approved and in a day or two, it will be processed. The amount will be deposited in their [players'] bank account. It has been cleared from our side," Karim said.

I will talk to BCCI: AICAPC prez Ghavri

AICAPC prez Karsan Ghavri

The president of the All India Cricket Association for Physically Challenged (AICAPC), Karsan Ghavri said he would talk to the BCCI officials to release the prize money of the Physical Disability T20 World Series-winning team once the lockdown ends. "It [the prize money] was supposed to go into the players' account, but it has not happened. This is not the right time to talk. Let everything settle down. We will definitely speak to the authorities," the former India all-rounder told mid-day.
Ghavri is also hopeful of sorting out the employment problems of the physically challenged cricketers. "We are definitely trying to help them out. In fact, Nitin Gadkari, a senior minister in the central government, is helping us a lot in this regard," he added.

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Feeling like a kid again, England batsman Jason Roy can't wait to get back on the cricket field but says it would make sense to postpone the T20 World Cup in October-November if teams don't get enough time to prepare for the mega event. All cricketing activities have come to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of T20 World Cup in Australia is also in doubt.

"If players aren't able to prepare in the right way and are not able to get over to Australia, then it makes sense to postpone it," Roy was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "But if it goes ahead, it's our job to play cricket - and if we're told we have three weeks to prepare to go and play in the World T20, all the boys will be putting the yards in to make sure we're ready for that.

"I think all the boys are on edge, waiting for the call saying, 'Right, we have a month turnaround or a six-week turnaround. Get in the nets and go hit some balls.' I think the boys will be as ready as they can be," said the 29-year-old opener. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) too has suspended activities until July 1. While Roy is eager to be playing again, he said safety is paramount.

"I've got a huge amount of trust in the ECB. I think they will look into every single avenue of all the positives, all the negatives. So, I guess I would trust in what they say, probably have a chat with Morgs (Morgan) and see where his head's at and go with that. "I don't think I'll have too many questions, especially when it got to the stage of 'Right, we're going to play', because there'll be a lot of people in those meetings discussing whether it's the right thing to do or not."

Roy also has no issues in playing in front of empty stadiums. "I just want to play some cricket to be honest. I think for us to be able to go out there and play some cricket would be an incredible feeling. I feel like a kid again. "I guess we're governed by the government here, we don't really know what is going on or what the safety measures are. There's way bigger things out there. I'm more than happy to play behind closed doors, it would just be nice to get out there," he added.

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Australia can deal with the challenge of getting teams into the country for the T20 World Cup but whether it is worth having the tournament in empty stadiums is the main point for consideration, feels sports minister Richard Colbeck. Travel restrictions and question marks over how long it would take to contain the COVID-19 pandemic has put the future of T20 World Cup and India's tour of Australia in doubt. Cricket Australia is staring at a staggering loss of 300 million Australian dollars if things don't go ahead as planned.

"I'd love to see an Australia-India Test series this summer and I'd really like to be able to see the World Cup go ahead "... the issue is not so much the teams as the crowds and that's probably one of the hurdles we really have to consider and probably one that world cricket will look at pretty closely as well," Colbeck told SEN Radio on Monday. He said logistics of hosting the event in the post COVID-19 world can be dealt with. "We all know the difference in atmosphere ... but in a team sense I'd like to think that we can build some protocols with the cooperation of the sport and the players, that's going to be extremely important, with appropriate quarantine and bio-security protocols to see if we can make the competition go ahead."

While T20 World Cup is scheduled for an October 18 start, India's tour of Australia will begin with a T20 tri-series in October and end with a four-match Test series in December. The legendary Allan Border has said it would defy belief to host a World Cup without spectators, while Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and some other cricketers have also expressed similar sentiments. The International Cricket Council recenly said that preparations were still on for the 16-team tournament and a final decision will be taken by August.

Australia is considering making travel exemptions for the Indian team's tour Down Under to save the cricket board for the financial loss but Colbeck said they need to be careful in expanding exemptions to other nations for the T20 World Cup. "Those conversations are being had, discussions about what the protocols might look like," Colbeck said. "They will be difficult because one of the things that has been a key part of our success is that we limited access to Australia from areas where there were significant outbreaks of Covid-19 and that's contributed to the low rate of spread we have now. "But we would have to be prepared to consider appropriate plans put forward by the various codes."

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All-rounder Dwayne Bravo is in awe of the current West Indies T20 team's batting depth, saying it is better than the 2016 World Cup-winning side and can intimidate any opposition. "In the last series in Sri Lanka, we had a team meeting, and coach Phil (Simmons) put the team down, the list, and he put it down in batting order, and he had my name down at No. 9," Bravo told ESPNcricinfo. "And I said to the guys, I said listen, I don't think I was ever involved in a T20 team when I am down to bat at No. 9. "I'm just in awe of our batting line-up, and I said to the guys, I said listen, I think this team is actually better than our World-Cup-winning team, and that is no joke, because at the end of the day, you have batting all the way down to No. 10.

Bravo, who returned from international T20 retirement in December last year to strengthen West Indies' title defence, said the batting resources of this "intimidating" team has reduced his role to a specialist bowler. "It's an intimidating team, it's a team to intimidate the opposition, and that excites me. So I will just do my part as a bowler, try to control the back end of the innings, especially closing off the innings with death bowling, which has been, in the past, a bit of a concern for us," said Bravo, who made his international comeback in January against Ireland. "You saw how Oshane Thomas did with his pace in Sri Lanka. Then you have Sheldon Cottrell, now a leader of the attack, Kesrick Williams on the bench, so things starting to look bright again, things starting to look good again."

Bravo also was effusive in his praise for skipper Kieron Pollard, who had taken over the reins of limited over teams last year. "He loves to win (Pollard). That's the most important thing, and as a captain, he'll do anything to win, in the right way and the right spirit, and he's very determined to win, to make a difference," he said. "I remember when they approached him to take over, I said to him, it's going to be a good challenge, a big one, a tough one, but now is the best time. You get both teams at the bottom of the table. There's only one way you can go, which is up, right? "I said now is the right time, you build a team and you create a dressing-room environment where everyone is on the same page."

Pollard has represented West Indies in 113 ODIs and 73 T20Is, scoring 3619 runs and taken 88 wickets. The 32-year-old all-rounder remains a huge figure in limited over cricket, having played in several leagues across the globe, including the IPL. Bravo described Pollard as a "figurehead" and someone who commands respect across the globe for his achievements. "I think what Pollard has is his honesty, which is the most important thing. You have leaders in the past sometimes that said, okay, well, I don't get involved in selection, I had no say, you know, they give all types of excuses and stuff, and the system will be able to manoeuvre them and control them, but Pollard, you can't control him," Bravo said. "...

The players also respect him, because of whatever he has done and achieved in the white-ball format, especially in T20 cricket. So if someone like Pollard is speaking in the dressing room about T20 cricket, we all have to listen, because he's played the most games, he's had success, and he's highly respected around the world."' The 36-year-old also had words of appreciation for for coach Phil Simmons. "And that relationship we have with Phil Simmons as well, it's another good thing. Captain, coach - always have to have a good relationship," Bravo said.

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It is premature to talk about resumption of cricket but India's tour of Australia later this year is likely to go ahead, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said on Friday, downplaying the logistical issues likely to arise because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure that the high-profile tour, starting in October, goes on as scheduled, Dhumal said quarantining of Indian players upon their arrival is a possibility even though it is not feasible before every overseas assignment. "You can't be sure of the situation prevailing at that point of time. As of now the Australia tour is on because nobody has called off that tour and same for T20 World Cup," Dhumal told PTI.

"The need for quarantine ahead of Australia tour only arises if the preceding T20 World Cup doesn't take place. If the World Cup happens, then players would have already completed their quarantine." Dhumal said isolation before the start of the tour can only be a one-off. "If quarantine becomes a norm before every tour then it would be difficult to organise games," he said.

Dhumal then went on to list the bigger logistical challenge that awaits Australia -- the T20 World Cup in October-November."...would it be possible for Australia to have so many teams (16) coming in and quarantining for two weeks? Players will be out of cricket for so long and further two weeks of quarantine and then straightaway to go into T20 World Cup. Who would be interested? So there is no clarity. "Once the situation improves and the lockdown ends, then we will see keeping the safety and health of our players in mind as that is paramount," said Dhumal.

India are scheduled to play four Tests Down Under with Cricket Australia considering an additional one. Dhumal said the five-Test series idea was discussed before the lockdown but Cricket Australia could now change its mind considering the severe financial impact COVID-19 has had on the board. If India tour doesn't take place, Cricket Australia could lose as much as 300 million Australian dollars. "The India-Australia tour is more likely to happen because it is further away and logistically it easier to organise. We will have to see what government guidelines are at that point (both India and Australian government).

"How will the team travel? There is no clarity on international travel and if we can get an exemption. We dont' know as of now. The picture is ho hazy that we can't decide anything," said Dhumal. On Cricket Australia's idea of an additional Test, Dhumal said:"As far as the fifth Test goes, that discussion happened before the lockdown. When cricket resumes, (we will see) whether any country would like to host an additional Test or have two T20s instead, which is likely to generate more revenues.

"There is a possibility that request comes from Cricket Australia only." Former Pakistan cricketers, including Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq, have called for resumption of Indo-Pak cricket as the world deals with the outbreak. Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has also proposed an Indo-Pak Test series later in the year.

Dhumal rejected all such talk. "People are talking about unthinkable things right now...They can think whatever they want to but it is for the board to decide.

"In an ideal situation, we would want to take Test cricket to a different level but given the situation, we are not even sure when T20s and ODIs can take place next," he said.

Dhumal said if the IPL doesn't take place, the board will take a hit of Rs 4000 crore. "If IPL doesn't take place the revenue loss will be Rs 4000 crore. In case, we lose the home season also, that will also be a substantial amount. BCCI is also facing huge losses. If IPL doesn't happen then we will be in a very big problem," said Dhumal. If the T20 World Cup doesn't take place in October-November, staging the IPL is a possibility in that window.

"If the situation improves by that time (September-October), we also have think about T20 WC and Asia Cup and accordingly take a call. For a full-fledged IPL to happen, you have to have at least 45-50 days. Whether we get the window, it is still a question mark."

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