KATHMANDU: A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday decided to honor the Nepali cricket team who returned home with the series victory in the recent One Day International (ODI) and the T-20 international against the UAE with a cash prize of Rs 500,000 each.
Minister for Youth and Sports Jagat Bahadur Bishwakarma informed about this at an interaction program in the capital. On the occasion, he also informed that preparations are underway to elect a leadership for the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) by forming a five-member ad-hoc committee as per the ICC (International Cricket Council) guidelines.
It may be noted that the ICC in April 2016 suspended the CAN after disputes in regard with its AGM and new leadership issues heated up. According to the minister, the CAN statute has been amended as per the direction of the ICC and the withdrawal of suspension was delayed as the issue had reached to the court.
Following the suspension, remunerations of cricket players has been stopped. The CAN was monthly paying the cricket players since the beginning of 2015 by categorizing them into three classes –A, B and C– before the ICC suspension.
The players remaining in ‘A’ class were getting Rs 35,000 each monthly, Rs 250,000 was for those in ‘B’ category and ‘C’ class players would get Rs 15,000 per month. The players have been deprived of such facility for over the past two years. “The government is committed to building of proper atmosphere for practicing sports, infrastructure development and good remuneration for players so as to ensure a good future of them,” the minister said.
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