Pakistan team captain Bismah Maroof has expressed disappointment over the failure of the Pakistan Cricket Board to increase the match fees of female cricketers in the last eight years.
Bismah’s comments came during a press conference she addressed in Lahore before the start of the home series against Ireland. She said there has not been any hike in the match fees for the national players for as long as last eight years.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced a historic decision of paying the same match fees to both men and women stars. Bismah was asked about the BCCI's move.
“I think the women cricketers also put in a lot of hard work. But there is no doubt that in Pakistan women’s cricket still needs to progress to the level of countries like India, England, Australia, etc.," she said.
"... it is also a fact that in recent years the PCB has done a lot to reward the women cricketers and provide them with the best facilities and coaches.”
The Pakistan captain said the upcoming home series against Ireland would help the players prepare for next year’s ICC World T20 Cup.
The Pakistan women’s team defeated India in last month's Asia Cup in Bangladesh. However, their performance in big tournaments has been pretty disappointing.
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- BCCI's decision of parity in match fees:
Jay Shah, who is now in his second term as the Secretary of the BCCI, posted a tweet that read, “I’m pleased to announce BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing a pay equity policy for our contracted BCCI 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 Cricket."
