BCCI announces record ₹131 crore cash reward for India's T20 World Cup-winning squad
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the record payout on Tuesday, calling it recognition of a squad that delivered India's third T20 World Cup title and their second in a row. The ₹131 crore figure edges past the ₹125 crore the board handed out when Rohit Sharma's side lifted the trophy in Barbados in 2024.
How the money breaks down
Each of the 15 players in Suryakumar Yadav's squad will receive ₹6 crore from the BCCI pot. The remaining ₹41 crore goes to head coach Gautam Gambhir and the wider support staff. That is on top of the ICC's own prize purse: India pocketed USD 3 million (roughly ₹27.5 crore) as tournament champions, with additional match-win bonuses earned through the group and Super 8 stages.
A golden phase for Indian cricket
Saikia described the current era as a "golden phase" for Indian cricket. It is hard to argue. Suryakumar's squad beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, completing a tournament where India were unbeaten. Sanju Samson, who was named Player of the Tournament after scoring 321 runs in five innings, anchored the batting through the knockout stages.
India are now the only team to have won the T20 World Cup three times, and the first to successfully defend the title. The 2024 win in Barbados ended a long drought; this one confirmed that squad depth and coaching continuity under Gambhir have turned India into the dominant force in the shortest format.
What comes next
The celebrations will be short-lived. IPL 2026 begins on March 28, barely three weeks after the World Cup final. Most of India's T20 World Cup squad will scatter across franchises for what promises to be the longest IPL season yet, with 84 matches spread over two months.
