History was not the only thing made at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. As Suryakumar Yadav’s side became the first team to successfully defend a T20 World Cup title, they also secured a record-breaking financial windfall that dwarfs the earnings of the 2024 champion squad as well as the sum awarded to the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup-winning side.
Between the ICC’s official prize purse and the BCCI’s newly announced mega-bonus, the Men in Blue are set to take home a combined total of approximately Rs 158.48 crore, a jump of over Rs 13 crore compared to their 2024 triumph.
The ICC’s 20% success premium
Reflecting the soaring commercial value of the T20 format, the International Cricket Council (ICC) increased the total prize pool for the 2026 edition to $13.5 million (over Rs 120 crore).
India, as the champions, pocketed $3 million (approx. Rs 27.48 crore) from the ICC. To put this into perspective, Rohit Sharma’s 2024 winning side earned $2.45 million (approx. Rs 20.42 crore). This represents a direct increase of nearly ₹7 crore in official tournament earnings, fuelled by record-breaking broadcasting and sponsorship deals across the host nations, India and Sri Lanka.
BCCI ups the ante to Rs 131 crore
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced its own reward for the historic achievement. Following the 2024 win in Barbados, the Board had famously awarded the team Rs 125 crore. For the 2026 victory at home, the BCCI has raised the bar further, announcing a Rs 131 crore cash prize.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the move, stating that the reward recognizes the unprecedented nature of India’s achievement: winning a record third title, defending it successfully and doing so on home soil.
The per player impact
In 2024, the Rs 125 crore bonus resulted in a payout of roughly Rs 5 crore per player (including support staff). With the 2026 bonus hitting Rs 131 crore and the ICC prize money also peaking, the 15-member squad and the coaching staff led by Gautam Gambhir are looking at the largest individual paydays in the history of international cricket.
The Gender Pay Gap: 2026 Men’s vs 2025 Women’s Triumphs
While the BCCI has made significant strides toward pay parity in match fees, a stark difference remains in tournament-specific victory bonuses.
Following the Indian Women’s team’s historic maiden ODI World Cup win in November 2025, the BCCI announced a cash reward of Rs 51 crore for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad. In comparison, the Rs 131 crore reward for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup winners is more than 2.5 times larger.
On the global stage, however, there is no gap as ICC has promised a pay parity. The ICC’s prize purse for the 2025 Women’s World Cup ($4.48 million / ~₹40 crore) actually surpassed the $3 million (~₹27 crore) awarded to the Men’s T20 champions in 2026 but that is because the two formats are different.