India may have won the Asia Cup that was played in Sri Lanka in June earlier this year, but are yet to enjoy the spoils of their victory. The winners of the individual sponsored prizes – both sponsored by leading brands in India - are apparently yet to receive their bikes and TV sets, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. “None of us has received either a bike or a television,” an India cricketer told the newspaper. “Neither the sponsors nor the organisers have got in touch with us after the tournament.” The Indian team management has taken up the issue on behalf of the players (though its focus may not be a little diffused after No-ballgate).

The sponsors, though, beg to differ. “Because players are busy in Sri Lanka, the bikes cannot be delivered right now,” said Arun, a representative of Planman Events, which was handling the account of the bike manufacturer. And the TV sets? “The Indian players' TV sets have been delivered to the BCCI headquarters,” a Nimbus official said from Mumbai. Nimbus Sports which holds the broadcast rights for the Asia Cup was in charge of the TV sets. The BCCI though has denied receiving any such consignment. Looks like the wait will continue. The best answer is to just win another set of awards during the current series.

The Indian team is used to doing things in style. A day after levelling a Test series that looked lost, they surprised everybody by flying to Dambulla, where the team is participating in a tri-series, in army choppers, the MI 17 and the Blackhawk.

The reason was a tight schedule. They had only two days between the Test and their first ODI, against New Zealand. There is no airport in Dambulla, and the near-five-hour drive is the only way of getting there. The one-day specialists had been here for three days already. The team didn’t want to lose out on an important day of training for them. Nishantha Ranatunga, SLC secretary, said if the team was happy to pay for it, they didn’t have any problem in making arrangements.

Hence the slightly surreal scene of the team taking off on the chopper from the army base next to their team hotel in Colombo. In 40 minutes’ time, they were landing near their team hotel in Dambulla.