A fortnight into their 30-day home series against England, India’s Under-19 cricketers and their support staff, including coach Rahul Dravid, are yet to receive their daily allowances. The India U-19 team is struggling to get three meals a day as the BCCI has not given the players their daily allowances.

Currently, BCCI does not have an official signatory who can pass the order to disburse the funds for the team, which has now resulted in a situation where players themselves have to pay for the dinner.

The junior cricketers going for half-a-month without their entitled allowance of Rs 6,800 per day. The players who are staying at a posh hotel for the series are depending on money from their parents to take care of their dinner expenses. The breakfast at the team hotel is complimentary while lunch is provided to them by Mumbai Cricket Association, which is hosting the matches.

BCCI About DA To Players:

“We have decided that once the series gets over, we will send DA directly to the accounts of players and support staff. Even in BCCI, there are lots of problems, as we don’t have a signatory and we can’t pay anyone,” a BCCI official said.

A member of the Under-19 team, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We are managing somehow. During match-days, one meal is organized by the host association and breakfast is complimentary at the hotel. But the biggest problem is dinner. We are put up in a posh hotel in Mumbai where a sandwich costs over Rs 1,500. Players have no option but to step out for a meal after a tiring day on the field.”

All players are now relying on money sent by their families. “Even if you want to complain, who will you complain to,” one of them said.

After Shirke was shown the door, along with BCCI president Anurag Thakur, the board is left with joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary. But for one of them to become the new signatory, the board’s members will have to pass a new resolution.

However, the national players who are currently in Hyderabad to face Bangladesh from February 9 are facing no such issues. The four-member committee headed by Vinod Rai has directed the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri to take care of the national team.

Currently, India U19 team is playing the five-match Youth ODI series by a margin of 3-1 with the fifth and the final match underway at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.