Dubai, Feb 15: Winners of the upcoming Champions Trophy will walk away with a whopping USD 2.24 million cash reward after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a 53 per cent hike in its prize money pool for the eight-team tournament starting February 19.The winners’ purse would be close to 20 crore in Indian currency. The runners-up will receive half the amount, USD 1.12 million (INR 9.72 crore), while each losing semi-finalist will take home USD 560,000 (INR 4.86 crore). The total prize pool has increased to USD 6.9 million (Rs 60 crore approx).
“The substantial prize pot underscores the ICC’s ongoing commitment to investing in the sport and maintaining the global prestige of our events,” ICC chairman Jay Shah said in a statement ahead of the tournament which will be held in Pakistan and the UAE. This tournament marks the first time Pakistan will host an ICC event since 1996. However, India will play all their matches in Dubai owing to security concerns related to travelling to Pakistan.