MUMBAI: In India, cricket rakes in money at the drop of a hat. Big corporates keep a blank cheque ready for top stars or telecast rights, but rarely does anyone bother about the people behind the show, for example the groundstaff (in India they are called maalis) who toils hard all year to keep the ground in ready condition when its ‘action time.’
In a unique, laudable gesture, a private firm has decided to sponsor the entire groundstaff of Mumbai Cricket Association at the Wankhede Stadium, the Sharad Pawar Recreation Centre at BKC and the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana - totalling to about 30-35 in number - for the entire cricketing season, starting with IPL-2022. The corporate has provided for a corpus of around Rs 80 lakhs to the MCA for the groundstaff at these three venues.
