The Men in Blue left the entire nation proud as they won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. On March 8, 2026, the entire nation was bleeding blue, and people are not yet over the massive 6s and 4s hit by Indian batters, who piled up a score of 255 in 20 overs, setting 256 as a target for New Zealand. From the beginning, back-to-back wickets of the opponent teams, be it through Bumrah’s direct hit on the wicket or Ishan Kishan’s jaw-dropping catch, led NZ to end in 159 at the 20th over.
Thus, India won by 96 runs, leaving the entire nation the happiest. Sanju Samson was named the Man of the Tournament for the consistency he showed throughout the series, while Jasprit Bumrah gave only 15 runs in 4 overs in the final match, being the ‘Man of the Match’. But despite showing their skills, were these two players not given a cash prize? Let’s have a look!
Why were Jasprit Bumrah and Sanju Samson not given a cash prize even after being the Man of the Match and the Man of the Tournament?
While we have seen franchise leagues like the IPL provide individuals with massive cash prizes, in the ICC, it is not the case. ICC operates in a Prize Pool system, and as they believe that cricket is a team sport, all participating teams should be paid. This year, reportedly, India, the winning tournament, got Rs. 27.48 crore, while runner-up New Zealand had Rs. 14.65 crore as the prize money.
Jasprit Bumrah became the ‘Man of the Match’ at the IND Vs NZ final, while Sanju Samson became ‘Man of the Tournament’. But why were they not paid a cash prize? Read More
