Father of Bhuvneshwar Kumar not pleased with his son receiving champagne as award after match

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s father Kiran Pal Singh has requested to do away with the practice of giving away champagne bottles in post match presentations.

After the conclusion of the 5-match Test series between England and India, all winners from both sides were presented with a bottle of champagne along with their prize money. The visitors lost the Test series 1-3 following which the Meerut cricketer was chosen as India’s Man of the Series on England coach Peter Moores’s nomination.

“I watched the presentation ceremony after the Test match on Sunday. The huge-margin defeats (in the series) hurt more than Bhuvi winning the MoS award.

“My son is a teetotaler and don’t know what he would do with this bottle. Bhuvi does not smoke, or even touches a glass of wine. I don’t think this practice of gifting champagne bottles exist in other countries. It should be stopped”, Singh told Observer over telephone from Meerut.

The seamer’s elder sister Rekha also echoed similar views on her brother’s habits, however trusted him to make a call on his own.

“Yes, till now, Kumar has not touched the wine bottle. But my brother is matured enough now and will take his own decision on this champagne bottle. Whether to gift it to the team or keep it as an honour in the cupboard will be his own decision,” felt the cricketer’s sister.

The champagne bottles were also presented to the Indian national team when they won the World Cup 2011 at home. Presenting champagne bottles were quite common in world sports according to England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) Media Director Colin Gibson.

“The champagne bottles are supplied by sponsors. It is traditional in many countries not just England. Champagne is also celebratory in other sports such as motor racing”, Gibson was quoted saying from London justifying the same.

“This has / had been a practice in Australia, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and at some ICC events. In India there is sometimes something like a motor cycle from the sponsors which is not likely in England”, he added.