Team India to get $1 million if they win one Test!

If the 19-match unbeaten winning streak was not enough for India, now there is another great news that is coming for them. The Indian cricket team will be rewarded with an amount of $1 million by the International Cricket Council (ICC) if they are able to win the first Test against Australia which begins in Pune from February 23. The amount is the reward for the team for retaining the number one rankings in Test cricket.

ICC’s cut-off date to retain the top rankings and win the prize money is April 1, 2017. Therefore, a win in the first Test will keep India at the top spot and also give them money.

India will play a four-match Test series against Australia which will run till March 29. But they took the top spot in Test rankings four months back during the New Zealand Test series.

After winning the third and final Test in Indore against New Zealand, India attained the number one rank in the game’s longest format and were also awarded the ICC mace for the same.

Earlier the prize money for the highest ranked Test team was $5, 00, 000 but that was doubled to $1 million in 2015.

Since the October win against New Zealand, India have been on an unbeatable run. They clean swept New Zealand 3-0 and then went on to beat England 4-0 in the five-match Test series.

In the one-off Test against Bangladesh, the first five-day game the visitors played in India, the hosts beat them by a massive margin of 208 runs and extended the run to 19 matches.

India have not lost a Test match since suffering a loss to Sri Lanka in 2015 in Galle.

Source : Indian Express