“Our Careers Are Over”: Oman Players Denied T20 World Cup Prize Money
Nearly a year after participating in the Men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, almost the entire Oman squad from that tournament has been forced out of the national setup, with many players having left the country, due to an unresolved pay dispute with Oman Cricket. The players are owed US$ 225,000 in prize money from the ICC, which their board has allegedly failed to distribute.
Kashyap Prajapati, a top-order batter who played against teams like Australia and England in that tournament, is now in the US attempting to secure a future for himself. He claims his life has been “upended” due to this issue, leading to the termination of his contract and forcing him to leave Oman.
The ICC had allocated US$ 225,000 for teams finishing between 13th and 20th in the tournament, part of a record-breaking total prize money of US$ 11.25 million. However, according to the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA), Oman Cricket is the most egregious offender, having passed on none of the prize money to its 15-man squad. The WCA also claims that other participating Associate boards have only paid their players between 20-70% of the owed prize money.
Under ICC regulations, all prize money must be paid to the squad via member boards within 21 days of an event’s conclusion. The ICC has confirmed that the funds were disbursed to Oman Cricket.
Prajapati revealed that players were unaware of the prize money until it received media attention (he also alleges they never received prize money from the 2021 T20 World Cup, which Oman co-hosted, because they weren’t informed about it). He and two other squad members repeatedly raised the issue with team management and the board after the tournament, without success.
During a tri-series in Canada three months later, Oman players learned from Nepali and Canadian counterparts that they had received their shares, albeit after some resistance. When Oman players pressed their board officials, they were initially told to focus on playing and that the issue was being addressed.
The situation escalated before the T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in October. Players resolved to take unified action, threatening to refuse to play if they didn’t receive assurances about the prize money. According to Prajapati, a board official challenged individual players, and when they stated they wouldn’t play without the owed funds, they were threatened with expulsion. Senior players were eventually given an ultimatum: play, or the board had 15 standby players ready. The players refused, leading to their expulsion from the squad and hotel.
Scorecards from that tournament confirm wholesale, last-minute changes to Oman’s squad. Only five of the originally announced 15-man squad played the first game, and only two players from the T20 World Cup squad played against the UAE just four months prior. Many of these players subsequently had their employment visas revoked, forcing them to leave Oman.
Fayyaz Butt, who played 30 ODIs and 47 T20Is for Oman, told ESPNcricinfo, “It’s been a massive loss for my career and professionally. I had to leave Oman. I’m not working at the moment, looking for opportunities but our playing careers are over.”
The players’ plight came to light after they reached out to the WCA, having been informed of the option by Canadian and Nepali players. The WCA highlights the lack of information provided to Associate Member players by their boards as a key factor in such disputes.
While the ICC has been involved and supportive, it is hampered by the lack of a mechanism to penalize boards for non-payment. A WCA recommendation to deduct outstanding amounts from ICC member revenue distributions is unlikely to be adopted by the member-run body. Oman Cricket has reportedly attributed the non-payment to a misunderstanding, but has not responded to multiple inquiries from ESPNcricinfo.
The ICC and WCA had reached an agreement in 2024 covering prize money for ten major ICC events up to 2027. However, the WCA notes that all three major ICC events since then have had outstanding or late payment issues for players.
