In a historic decision, the BCCI said on Thursday that all centrally contracted men’s and women’s Team India cricketers would be paid equally.
The news was made on Twitter by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. “I’m glad to inform that BCCI has taken the first step toward addressing discrimination. We are implementing a wage equity policy for the women cricket players under contract. As we welcome in a new age of gender equality in Indian cricket, the match fee will be the same for male and female cricketers.”
Under the current arrangement, Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates will receive the same match money as their male counterparts—$15 lakh for every Test, $6 lakh per ODI, and $3 lakh per T20I.
“Female cricketers will be paid exactly the same as male cricketers. Tests ($15,000,000), ODIs ($6,000,000), and Twenty20 Internationals ($15,000) (INR 3 lakhs). I promised pay fairness to our female cricket players, and I appreciate the Apex Council’s cooperation.”, he added.
The Indian women’s team won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh after defeating Sri Lanka by an 8-wicket margin in the final at Sylhet. They also won home India’s first-ever medal in cricket at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year in Birmingham. Australia won silver after defeating the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team in the championship game. The popularity of women’s cricket in India had grown considerably since India’s performance at the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup in England when the hosts defeated them in the title match.
