Siraj donates prize money to Sri Lankan ground staff

India’s match-winner Mohammed Siraj donated his Asia Cup final player of the match prize award of US$ 5,000 to the Sri Lankan ground staff, who worked tirelessly through the rain-hit tournament.

“I think they deserve a lot of credit. The tournament would not have gone ahead without their work,” said Siraj at the post-match presentation.

The prize money for the award was USD 5,000 or Rs 4.15 Lakhs. Earlier on Sunday, the ACC and SLC had also announced a USD 50,000, or Rs 41.54 Lakhs, award to the ground staff of Kandy and Colombo.

Siraj was awarded the Man of the Match award in the final for his record spell of 6/21, which included four wickets picked in one over. His figures were the fourth-best by an Indian in One-Day Internationals.

The ground staff at the R Premadasa Stadium worked around the clock to ensure the Asia Cup went ahead as per schedule at a time when the region experienced torrential rains.

The ACC was thinking of shifting the tournament out of Colombo but opted to stay put. After the India-Pakistan match was washed off due to rain in Kandy during the group stage, the board added a reserve day for the final._Agencies