LAHORE: The upcoming National T20 Cup First XI tournament, which begins on 30 September in Multan, comes with an opportunity for the country’s elite white ball cricketers to pocket hefty prize money with nearly PKR 9 million up for grabs. With PKR5 million as the tournament’s winning prize money, Imad Wasim-led Northern will be eager for title defence. The runner-up will receive PKR2.5 million, while PKR400,000 will be shared equally between the tournament’s top performers which include player of the tournament, best batsman of the tournament, best bowler of the tournament and best wicketkeeper of the tournament. The best performer of every match will get PKR25,000 as the man-of-the-match award while the top performer of the tournament’s finale at 18 October will be rewarded with PKR35,000. These will be over and above earnings for the players from what they will receive as match fee and monthly retainers and is in line with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy of providing incentives to top performing cricketers, which will enhance the quality of domestic cricket and lead to a competitive environment while increasing the interest of the viewers. The top performing domestic cricketers are already in line to earn to in a range of PKR3.2 million to PKR1.8 million only on the basis of their match fee and improved and enhanced monthly retainer structure, which was approved by the PCB’s Board of Governors in their 58th meeting. Director High Performance, Nadeem Khan: “The Pakistan Cricket Board’s focus is to invest the money that it earns back in cricket by providing the players a bigger chunk of the pie through substantial and lucrative rewards so they excel in the game. “There has been a massive improvement in the remuneration structure this year which presents better earning opportunities for the players. The PCB despite the Covid-19 pandemic has invested more in the prize money pool with the number of group matches being doubled this year. The PCB had put in great effort to make sure that the 2020-21 domestic season was organised as it was important for the livelihood of our players. As such, now the players not only have more competitive cricket to polish their skills and get more matches under their belt, but they also have more earning opportunities.” The National T20 Cup First XI tournament will be played from 30 September to 18 October at Multan Cricket Stadium and the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.