Kapil, Azhar, Azad miss out on BCCI`s one-time payment scheme

Zeenews Sports Bureau

New Delhi: India`s two former captains, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin and former cricketer Kirti Azad were excluded from the list of beneficiaries who will receive money under BCCI’s one-time payment scheme. Kapil Dev, who led India to their first ever World Cup glory in England in 1983, will not benefit from the scheme as he refused to accept the amnesty offered by the BCCI following his involvement in now-defunct ICL, a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. Azharuddin, who represented India in 99 Tests, was banned for life in 2000 for match-fixing and hence his name is also omitted by the BCCI. Apparently, former cricketer Kirti Azad’s fast at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in protest against the alleged financial irregularities in the IPL forced BCCI to remove his name from the list of former cricketers who will get one-time benefit payment. Under the BCCI`s scheme, cricketers who have played more than 100 Test matches will get Rs 1.5 crores while those who have played between 75 and 99 Tests will receive Rs 1 crore. The cheques will be distributed to former players during the ongoing playoffs matches in the IPL. However, a defiant Kirti Azad said that he will not stop from raising his voice against the Indian Premier League and the Board. Azad said he has not been contacted by the BCCI on whether his name has been removed from the list. "I have not received any intimation from the BCCI so far. Neither has anyone contacted me," he said. Asked if he would accept the one-time payment if the Board decides to give it to him, Azad said, "The question of acceptance or refusal of the payment arises only when they get in touch me.” "But if they think that they can stop me from raising my voice by doing that, then they are wrong," said Azad, one of the members of the 1983 World Cup winning team and now a Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament. Azad, who is to get Rs 35 lakh under the BCCI scheme, said he will continue protesting against the IPL and the Board. "The skeletons of IPL have been coming out in the open and I will continue protesting whenever I see any kind of wrongdoings," he said. With PTI inputs