In a historic decision, the BCCI on Thursday confirmed equal remuneration for all centrally contracted male and female players for Team India. Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, tweeted about the development.
“I’m pleased to announce BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing a pay equity policy for our contracted women cricketers. The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be the same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Indian Cricket,” Shah tweeted.
In accordance with the current arrangement, Harmanpreet Kaur and company will receive the same match fees as their male counterparts: 15 lakh every Test, 6 lakh per ODI, and 3 lakh per T20I.
“The women cricketers will be paid the same match fee as their male counterparts. Test (INR 15 lakhs), ODI (INR 6 lakhs), T20I (INR 3 lakhs). Pay equity was my commitment to our women cricketers and I thank the Apex Council for their support,” he added.
The Indian women’s team just took home the Asia Cup in Bangladesh after defeating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the championship game at Sylhet. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year, they also brought home India’s first-ever medal in cricket. The team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur finished second and suffered a final defeat to Australia.
Women’s cricket has experienced an unparalleled growth in popularity in the nation ever since India’s performance at the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup in England, where they fell to the hosts in the championship match. The BCCI unveiled the first-ever women’s IPL with five teams for next year during its most recent AGM in Mumbai earlier this month.
