Disturbing news from Karnataka and Delhi. First, to the south:
The Karnataka government would allot free housing sites in Bangalore to each of the 15 members of the Indian cricket squad that won the World Cup, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa announced on Sunday.
And from the north:
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday announced an award of Rs two crore for Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni and Rs one crore each for four Delhi players after their victory over Sri Lanka in the World Cup final on Saturday.
I hate to state the obvious (really, I do, Shastribot), but surely this money could go to more deserving people? Like the millions of poor in each state? As any good elitist Bandra boy should know, Sachin Tendulkar isn’t suffering for adequate housing. The team isn’t likely to starve for more endorsement options either:
Dhoni charges Rs. 6-7 crore per endorsement per year and already endorses around 19 brands, including Sony, Pepsi, Reebok and Big Bazaar, leaving only a handful of categories such as financial services and four-wheelers he is yet to enter. That may happen now.
Ducking Beamers: A Cricket Blog 
Well, then the onus is on the players to use the money for charity
+1
This is the only part of the World Cup that absolutely stinks…its not as if the cricketers are even going to use the land, or are in any shortage of money….only in a country with so many problems of poverty and hardships does this happen..
Couldn’t agree more!
Absolutely disgraceful of politicians across the spectrum. This is tax-payer money meant for our disadvantaged fellow citizens… and land that should be used for affordable housing.
And Sharad Pawar has managed to gift the ICC Rs. 45 crore ($10M) by securing a tax exemption for the event.
Unfortunately, pseudo-patriotism usually trumps real patriotism. And while I’m really proud of our team’s cricketing achievement, I’m skeptical that any one of our prominent sportspersons (not just cricketers) has ever turned down such largesse.
In fact, the majority of top sportpersons globally are the same. It is being reported that Grame Smith spent time in India and Ireland, rather than SA, after the Q/F loss to avail of a tax emeption on his income.
[…] is in line with a previous post about unduly rewarding/lionizing the World Cup-winning team. From Mid-Day: Tendulkar was touched when the group of NSG commandos tasked with protecting him […]
Instead of making the rich Indian cricketers richer, state should focus on investing those amount in development of less-developed sports in India, so that athletes besides cricketers can also earn their livings from sports.
[…] a comment » Sadly, this is becoming a trend (see here for the previous installment in the series): Hyundai Motor Co., a big cricket sponsor, says it […]