Fact Check: Claims About Udeshika Prabodini's Financial Status and Return from Asia Cup!

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The Sri Lanka women's cricket team recently celebrated a significant victory by winning the Asia Cup for the first time, beating the much-fancied India side. This achievement has sparked massive interest in Sri Lankan women’s cricket and its victorious team members.

However, some social media posts have emerged amid the celebrations, spreading misleading information about the players' personal lives and financial status. These misleading posts detract from the team's success and contribute to the spread of misinformation.

Social Media Posts

Recently, social media has been abuzz with claims regarding Sri Lankan cricketer Udeshika Prabodini. The posts suggest Prabodini, who is 38 and one of the senior-most players in the team, is financially struggling. Prabodini played a key role in Sri Lanka's recent Asia Cup victory as the opening bowler.

Specifically, it was claimed that she even returned to her village using public transportation due to an alleged lack of personal vehicles and financial resources. This claim has raised questions about her financial status and living conditions.

FB | Archived

Some mainstream media also reported this in a misleading way based on newspaper reports. Such posts can be reached here.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Explanation

Transportation and Vehicles:

We contacted Chandika Dinesh, a Grama Sewaka officer and family friend, who has served in Prabodini's village for a long period. Dinesh confirmed that the claims are false.

According to him, Prabodini’s family owns several vehicles, including a van. He clarified that Prabodini’s use of public transportation was a personal choice due to her non-favourability to drive. He added that it is customary for her to travel from Colombo to her village by bus. Her brother typically meets her at the highway entrance to drive her home; hence, the claim that her family does not own vehicles is inaccurate.

Udeshika’s brother confirmed the same details.

Asia Cup Victory and Return:

Regarding her return after the Asia Cup victory, Dinesh added that Prabodini was received by her family at the highway entrance (Kurundu Gaha Hethapma), and a vehicle parade was arranged to bring her to the village(Krandeniya, Diyapitagallana). This celebration was done without prior announcement to her, to have a surprise celebration, and the details of her arrival were misrepresented in the social media posts.

Financial Status and Sri Lanka Cricket:

We contacted Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for further clarification. An SLC spokesperson confirmed that the women’s cricket team received a total cash gift of 150 million LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees) following their Asia Cup win. This gift would be distributed among the team members and support staff, including Inoka.

However, the spokesperson acknowledged that while women cricketers are compensated, their salaries are generally lower than those of their male counterparts. The disparity is attributed to women's cricket's shorter history and recent popularity.

He emphasised that Udeshika has been playing for the Sri Lanka cricket team since 2008 and is financially stable. As a contract player, she gets a monthly salary in addition to the other special allowances all the team players get on special assignments and tours.

SLC spokesperson added that daily allowances and per diems for all contracted players have been enhanced to provide better support during the national team’s inbound and outbound engagements.

Public Statements and Media Reports:

Sri Lanka Cricket has tripled the match fee it pays to women's international cricketers since the beginning of 2024 and has also introduced a "winning bonus" as well.

Apart from their contract fees, which range from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 300,000 a month for the 25 contracted national cricketers, women’s cricketers are paid US$750 a match for T20Is or ODIs. SLC also pays a bonus of US$250 for every win they notch up. Sunday Times

However, there is still a massive difference between male and female players, which owes to various reasons. A Daily Mirror article corroborated that female cricketers in Sri Lanka earn less than male cricketers, reflecting the broader trend of disparity in earnings between genders in sports.

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Conclusion:

The claims circulating on social media about Udeshika Prabodini’s financial struggles and her use of public transportation are unfounded. Prabodini’s family is well-equipped with vehicles, and her choice is public transport as she does not favour driving vehicles.