Former Indian player Sunil Gavaskar questioned whether head coach Gautam Gambhir would follow in the footsteps of the veteran Rahul Dravid after the side’s 2025 Champions Trophy win as well. Gavaskar’s remarks came as Dravid denied the additional bonus amount and settlement for the same as the other support staff after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory as well. Notably, the BCCI awarded the Indian team a bonus of ₹58 crores for their Champions Trophy win. However, the exact splits for Gambhir and the rest are yet to be known as well.
Writing about the same in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar added: “It’s been a fortnight since the BCCI announced the Champions Trophy rewards, but we haven’t heard anything from the current coach on whether he will also do a Dravid. Or is it that Dravid, in this instance, is not a good role model?” “After the ICC T20 World Cup win and the Board announcement of prize money, the then-coach Rahul Dravid, ever the team man, refused to accept more than his fellow members of the coaching staff and, in fact, shared it equally with his colleagues.”
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Sunil Gavaskar also applauded the BCCI for their additional incentives to the Indian team for success in major ICC tournaments as well. After a decade-long drought in ICC tournaments, India finally won consecutive events with the T20 World Cup in 2024 and then the recently concluded Champions Trophy as well.
“This is truly fantastic, as the Board, which is now awash with funds, is showing its appreciation for the efforts put in by everybody and rewarding them generously. The BCCI is also letting the players keep the prize money that the ICC announced for the winners, which is also a good amount each,” wrote Gavaskar.
“Now, after our boys won the Champions Trophy, the BCCI announced a whopping ₹58 crore for the squad and the support staff and selection committee. In July last year, after the stirring victory in the ICC T20 World Cup, the BCCI announced ₹125 crore for the squad, support staff, and selectors,” he concluded.
