SANJAY PANDITA
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 30: As cricket fans continue to debate India’s emphatic triumph in the just-concluded Asia Cup, a resurfaced video of former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has added an ironic twist to the conversation—exposing how Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup-winning team was rewarded with cheques that bounced.
In the now-viral clip from a 2023 podcast with YouTuber Nadir Ali, Ajmal recalled how then-Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani handed each victorious player a celebratory cheque of Rs 25 lakh after the historic T20 win. But the pride quickly turned into humiliation.
“We were given the cheques but they bounced,” Ajmal said flatly, adding that he was stunned a government-issued cheque could fail. According to him, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) distanced itself from the fiasco, claiming the
rewards were the government’s responsibility. In the end, Ajmal said, the team received only the I Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has exposed how Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup-winning team was rewarded with cheques that bounced.
The then PM of Pakistan Yusuf Raza Gilani handed each victorious player a celebratory cheque of Rs 25 lakh but the pride quickly turned into humiliation.
Pakistan Cricket Board distanced itself from the fiasco, claiming the rewards were the government’s responsibility.
The team received only the ICC prize money—no national bonus, no cash windfall.
The resurfacing of this video, coinciding with India’s dominant win over Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup final in Dubai, has sparked sharp comparisons. While Indian cricketers were feted with praise and a Rs 21 crore team bonus, Pakistan’s champions were left chasing rubber cheques—a stinging reminder of the difference in how the two nations treat their cricketing heroes.
Ajmal, who was a star performer with 12 wickets in Pakistan’s victorious campaign and later rose to No. 1 in the ICC ODI bowling rankings, further revealed that individual accolades brought him no recognition either. “I was named in the ICC Team of the Year in 2012 and 2013. But there was no reward, no money—nothing. ICC just puts your name on the list,” he quipped.
For many cricket fans, the timing of the viral clip could not have been more symbolic—one team drowning in glory, the other in bounced promises. | 