Railways to give Rs1.3m each to its Team India stars

NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday announced a cash award of Rs1.3 million for each of the 10 women's cricketers employed with his department for their inspiring show at the World Cup.

Indian women's team ended runners-up at the ICC event, narrowly losing the title clash to hosts England.

The minister made the announcement at a felicitation function for the cricketers.

"Ten women from the Indian cricket team were from the Railways. It was captained by Mithali Raj who is from Railways and was the highest run scorer. Harmanpreet Kaur is ours and so is the wicket keeper (Sushma Verma)," Prabhu said.

At present, Indian Railways has 20 Padma Shris, 4 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardees, 158 Arjuna awardees, 9 Dhyanchand awardees, 7 Dronacharya awardees and 2 Rashtriya Khel Protsahan puraskar in its kitty.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Cricket Association of Bengal has announced it will award Team India cricketer Jhulan Goswami Rs1 million for her efforts during the World Cup.