MCA groundstaff await reward

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) joint-secretary Nitin Dalal for one said that they will be paid their just rewards only once the association receives its yearly grants from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“We are yet to receive money from the BCCI and once we get it,we will hand it over to the groundsmen. It is not that we have forgotten them. But they’ll have to wait till we get our due from the board,” Dalal said.

But the aggrieved lot aren’t quite as hopeful and the delay has certainly not enhanced their view of the MCA presently. Especially since the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) had gone ahead and rewarded their curators from their own pockets without waiting for the BCCI to open up their coffers. And with the MCA counted among the more wealthy of cricket associations in the country,it’s not surprising that the Wankhede groundsmen were expecting them to take the lead.

The MCA groundsmen will overall be getting around Rs 17 lakh,which will be shared by nearly 14 of their staff along with the chief curator and their assistants. It will be after many years that a reward of this magnitude will be coming the way of these groundsmen. In addition to the IPL riches,they are also awaiting their share of the pie for Wankhede having been awarded the best ground in the West Zone following the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy earlier this year.

“They reward only those who matter to them,the big names and cricketers. They don’t have time for us,” a member of the groundstaff said. Incidentally,neither the MCA nor BCCI has awarded a single penny to the Wankhede groundstaff even after India clinched the 2011 World Cup right here.