In a heartwarming gesture, BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Monday announced cash prizes for the pitch curators and groundsmen of Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata as part of a recognition of the stellar work they did during the 74 games of the just concluded 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
On Monday evening, Shah took to his Twitter account to announce a cash reward of Rs 1.25 Crores for the groundsmen and curators.
Expressing his gratitude towards them for producing brilliant pitches that gave everyone sustained 'high octane' cricket over the course of the last eight weeks.
Shah announced a reward of Rs 25 Lakh for the workers at CCI, DY Patil, Wankhede and MCA Stadium, Pune and a further Rs 12.5 Lakh for their Kolkata and Ahmedabad counterparts.
Shah wrote:
"I'm pleased to announce a prize money of INR 1.25 crores for the men who gave us the best games in #TATAIPL 2022. The unsung heroes - our curators and groundsmen across 6 IPL venues this season,"
"We've witnessed some high octane games, and I would like to thank each one of them for their hard work. 25 lacs each for CCI, Wankhede, DY Patil, and MCA, Pune. 12.5 lacs each for Eden and Narendra Modi Stadium,'' he added.
Due to Covid-19 related precautions, the league stage of the 15th season was played entirely in the state of Maharashtra, with three grounds in Mumbai- CCI, DY Patil & Wankhede- and the MCA Stadium in Pune playing host to 70 games across seven weeks.
All the pitches across Maharashtra proved to be good as they regularly dished out high-scoring games while at the same time keeping the bowlers interested with pace, bounce and swing on offer.
The playoffs were played at the packed stadiums of Kolkata and Ahmedabad, which played hosts to more than 100,000 people at the grand finale where Hardik Pandya and his Gujarat Titans were crowned the champions at the expense of the Rajasthan Royals.