Mumbai, Aug 26 (IANS): In a path-breaking initiative, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to introduce prize money for Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament award winners in Women’s and Junior Cricket tournaments which are part of its Domestic Cricket Programme.

The BCCI has also decided that prize money will be awarded for the Player of the Match in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments for Senior Men. These announcements were made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a social media post on Monday.

"We are introducing prize money for the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament in all Women’s and Junior Cricket tournaments under our Domestic Cricket Programme," said Jay Shah in his post on X, formerly Twitter.

"Additionally, prize money will be awarded for the Player of the Match in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments for Senior Men," he said in the post.

Shah said that the aim behind the initiative was to recognize and reward outstanding performances in the domestic circuit.

He also thanked the BCCI's Apex Council for approving these initiatives.

"A heartfelt thank you to the Apex Council for their unwavering support in this endeavour. Together, we are fostering a more rewarding environment for our cricketers. Jai Hind," Shah said in his post.

Though the BCCI had recently hiked the match fee and prize money for various domestic tournaments, there was no prize money for individual performances. By introducing prize money for Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, the players will get more money and will be encouraged to give their best performance.