CHANDIGARH, October 9 :The Indian Cricket League (ICL) today announced the prize money corpus of Rs.13.72crore for its October 2008 edition of ‘ICL 20s Indian Championship at a press conference held in Hyderabad. The winners stand to gain Rs. 2crore; while the runner-up will cash in Rs.1crore.
The incentive for individual performance during the 41- match tournament will be an impressive Rs. 2 lakh for Man of the Match and a humongous Rs.40 lakh for the Man of the Series. Per match winning in the league stage will be Rs. 25 lakh and the losing semi-finalists will stand to win Rs. 50 lakh.
Announcing the prize money, Kiran More, Executive Board Member, Indian Cricket League (ICL) said, "Monetary considerations are important for any professional cricketer and we are pleased to announce a prize money package right up there on par with international cricket. I am sure this will work as a major incentive for all our players & motivate them to give cent percent to their team and the viewing public every time they take the field."
Bharat Reddy, Executive Board Member, Indian Cricket League (ICL) said, "As former professional cricketers, we at the ICL executive board understand the financial prerequisites of our professional players. Along with our endeavor to provide our players with the best of facilities, support staff and training systems we have also consistently delivered a top of the drawer financial incentive scheme, right since the inception, making the Indian Cricket League as the most vibrant & lucrative platform for a professional cricketer."
Starting October 10 to November 16, the ICL Season 2 begins with a high octane Opening Ceremony on October 10, 2008 in Hyderabad at 7.00pm. The ICL 20s Season 2 will see a total of 41 pulsating matches being played at four international standard stadiums in – Hyderabad, Panchkula, Gurgaon and Ahmedabad. ICL promises to make this Season 2 an unforgettable experience for TV viewers, spectators and cricket lovers across the globe. The nine teams comprising of the newly added Dhaka Warriors will play against each other once in every city.
In India, Zee Sports will telecast all matches live in Hindi, while Ten Sports will do the same in English. Along with Zee Sports & Ten Sports, BTV & ATN Bangla will telecast matches in Bangladesh, Gateway in North Africa, Telkom-Malysia & Astro in Malaysia, Fox Sports in Australia, Zee Music in UK, Zee TV in Africa, Zee Sports in USA, Ten Sports in Pakistan & Middle East and Caribbean Media Corporation in West Indies and Caribbean Islands.