Bangladesh yesterday showered its female cricketers with cash rewards for their upset triumph over India in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament.
The women’s team defeated six-time champions India by three wickets in Sunday’s final in Kuala Lumpur to claim their maiden title.
Bangladesh became the first side ever to beat India in the group phase of the tournament before repeating the feat in the tense final.
The team returned late on Monday to a hero’s welcome. The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced a 20 million taka (US$ 236,700) cash reward for the team and promised to review salaries.
“Each player will get 1 million taka as a cash reward,” board spokesman Jalal Yunus told reporters yesterday.
About US$75,000 is to be shared by the coaching and management staff, he added.
The board plans to review the salary and match fees of contracted female players this week, Yunus said.
Players currently earn a maximum of 30,000 taka each month plus US$100 as a match fee for international play. On their return, the female players were garlanded by a welcoming committee that included government officials and members of the Bangladesh men’s team.
A video of the male cricketers celebrating in the dressing room at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, after bowler Jahanara Alam hit the winning run, went viral on social media.
Jahanara scored two runs off the final ball to take Bangladesh to 113-7 after Bangladesh restricted India to 112-9.
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