'IPL money won't spoil youngsters'

BCCI President Sharad Pawar says big money is not going to spoil young cricketers but will secure their future.

His father-in-law was paid five rupees to play in a Test match, India's cricket supremo Sharad Pawar recalls, contrasting that with Mahendra Singh Dhoni being auctioned for Rs six crore.

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The BCCI president is amused by the raging debate on whether India's cricket stars are being paid too much money under his stewardship which has seen the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many cricketers hit the jackpot.

The big money is not going to spoil the country's young cricketers, he argues, saying, "The money will provide stability to their lives and help them perform better".

Pawar's father-in-law, a googly bowler, Sadashiv Ganpatrao Shinde, better known as Sadu Shinde, played seven Test matches for India with a best innings haul of six wickets against England in a Test match at Delhi in 1952. That was the time when players were paid Rs five per Test, travelled by boat outside India, stayed at class three hotels or school hostels, Pawar recalled during an interview to PTI.