ICA announces Rs 1 lakh aid for spouses of deceased Indian cricketers

MUMBAI: In a laudable move aimed at financially assisting families of former first-class cricketers, the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA) on Monday announced a one-time benefit of ₹1 lakh for around 50 spouses of its deceased members. The scheme applies only to former domestic cricketers who were ICA members and not to those who were Test cricketers.The decision was taken at the ICA’s second board meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday (Aug 23). Throwing light on the scheme, ex-India cricketer Yajurvindra Singh Bilkha, a board member and directer of ICA, told , “We have already honoured around 150 of our members (former domestic cricketers) over 60 — who receive no pension or gratis from the BCCI or state associations — with a one-time benefit of ₹1 lakh. This scheme has been devised for former domestic cricketers who have played 10 to 24 first-class matches in case of men, and atleast five domestic matches for women. Now, we have extended this scheme to the spouses of our deceased members (ex-domestic cricketers) too, since they too sometimes struggle financially. Many associations in India provide former domestic cricketers with no pension or gratis.”The ICA informed that about 50 of its members — all former First-Class cricketers — stand to benefit from this initiative.