The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah on Thursday (October 27) announced a historic decision as both men and women stars are set to receive the same match fees. Shah, who is now in his second term as the Secretary of the BCCI, put a tweet on his Twitter handle that confirmed the news. The pay scale will come into effect from the next series in which the women’s team participates.
Shah’s tweet read, “I’m pleased to announce @BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted @BCCIWomen cricketers. The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Cricket."
The decision comes in the second week of the second tenure of Jay Shah as the secretary of the Board. The decision should be welcomed with open hearts as the BCCI also launched another big initiative last week when they announced the first-ever Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) in 2023 season.
The WIPL will feature 20 league games with teams playing each other twice. The table toppers will get a direct entry into the final, while the second and third-place teams will battle out in the Eliminator. Each team can have no more than five overseas cricketers in the playing eleven.
The Women's Big Bash League in Australia and The Hundred in UK don't allow more than three overseas players and have a squad size of 15. The board also thinks with limited number of teams, the home-and-away format will not be feasible. The event is expected to take place soon after the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa from February 9-26.
What is the amount paid for one match for Indian players?
Apart from the BCCI annual salary, the players also receive an income for playing in every Test, ODI, and T20I match.
An Indian player has a fixed match fee of Rs 15 lakh for a Test match. For an ODI, a player earns Rs 6 lakh while he earns Rs 3 lakh for every T20I. Those who don’t make it to the playing XI draw 50% of the match fee.
