Recognizing the efforts of the groundsmen and the curators during the ongoing Asia Cup, that has seen several rain-affected contests, especially during the Sri Lanka leg, India pacer Mohammed Siraj, who was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match in the final for his record spell of 6/21, which included four wickets picked in one over, dedicated his cash award to the ground staff at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

“I want to give this cash prize to the groundsmen. They deserve it. If they were not around, this tournament would not have been successful,” he said while dedicating the prize money worth USD 5,000.

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Earlier, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah on Sunday announced a cash reward for their services in Colombo and Kandy.

“The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are proud to announce a well-deserved prize money of USD 50,000 for the dedicated curators and groundsmen at Colombo and Kandy. Their unwavering commitment and hard work made the Asia Cup 2023 an unforgettable spectacle. From pitch perfection to lush outfields, they ensured the stage was set for thrilling cricket action,” Shah announced on X (formerly Twitter).

“This recognition highlights the critical role these individuals play in cricket’s success. Let’s celebrate and honour their yeoman services!” he added in another post.

Conducted in a Hybrid model, the Asia Cup is being jointly hosted in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, after the BCCI refused to send the team to Pakistan and opted to play their games in the Island nation. Accordingly four non-India matches were played in Pakistan, and the remaining nine games, including Sunday’s final were played in Sri Lanka.

However, the Sri Lanka leg of the Asia Cup witnessed multiple rain-affected games, including the marquee match between India and Pakistan being played across two days, thanks to the ACC allowing a reserve day for the high-profile Super Four match.

Amidst the high-octane matches and continuous rain disruptions, the contributions of this group of unsung heroes are often overlooked. They devised an effective method to quickly drain water from the Premadasa Stadium. Instead of relying on technology like super soppers, which move slowly and absorb little water, they used traditional methods.

Earlier, India skipper Rohit Sharma had also praised the ground staff of the R Premadasa Stadium for their immense hard work and for making the IND vs PAK match possible.