Uttarakhand cricketers
Uttarakhand cricketers during a training session (Credits: Twitter)

Uttarakhand cricketers have reportedly been receiving a meagre amount of Rs 100 as their daily allowance (DA). Uttarakhand recently made it to news for all the wrong reasons after suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Mumbai in the quarterfinal of Ranji Trophy.

Mumbai thrashed Uttarakhand by 725 runs and broke the world record for the highest margin of victory in the history of first-class cricket. Chasing an improbable 794 runs to win, Uttarakhand were all out for just 69. In the first innings, they had managed only 114 in reply to Mumbai’s mammoth total of 647 for 8.

The focus, however, has now shifted from the crushing defeat to the humiliating condition of the state cricketers. According to a report in News9live, the DA for each Uttarakhand senior cricketer is Rs 1,500. The report stated that the DA amount is known to drop to Rs 1,000 and rise to Rs 2,000.

However, for the last 12 months the cricketers have, on average, been given a paltry Rs 100 per day. The amount is way less than the amount received by an unskilled labourer in the state. As per the Uttarakhand government, as of April 2022, the minimum wage for an unskilled labourer in a town of more than one lakh people is Rs 800.

The report has further raised questions over the audit report of the Uttarakhand Cricket Association (CAU).  For the financial year ending March 31, 2021, the CAU has listed several items which has made the entire case even more startling. As per the audit report,  the CAU has claimed expenses of Rs 1,74,07,346 for food and catering and Rs 49,58,750 for daily allowances under the sub-heading ‘Tournament & Trial Camp Expenses’.

CAU has also shockingly claimed expenses worth Rs 35 lakh for bananas and water bottles worth Rs 22 lakh. Despite all these claims, the state players are only getting Rs 100 per day as an allowance.

No arrangement for food:

The report has also revealed how players have struggled to get food during the Ranji Trophy games. At a time when the players should focus solely on the game, they were compelled to worry about their food.

The team manager reportedly told a player to order his food from online food ordering platforms, saying: “Arre kyun baar baar yeh sawaal poochte rehte ho, bhai? Paise aa jaayenge … tab tak aap Swiggy-Zomato se mangva lijiye, na (why do you keep asking the same question? You’ll get money, till then order it over Swiggy-Zomato).”