Cricket: BCCI Announces Pay Parity For Women Cricketers
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-10-29 06:41:54
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
In a historic and long-overdue step, the BCCI announced pay parity for men and women cricketers who are under contract with the body. Henceforth, both men and women cricketers will get Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 6 lakh for an ODI and Rs 3 lakh for a T20 international. Earlier, while men used to get the stated amount, women were paid just Rs 4 lakh for a Test match and Rs 1 lakh for both ODIs and T20s. This perpetuated gender-based discrimination.
While the BCCI could have argued that since women's cricket was not popular and attracted less sponsors and hence less earnings, it was correct in paying them less, the cricketers could have argued that the lack of popularity was due to the fact that the BCCI was not focussing on the women's game and not promoting it as widely as the men's game. But after the ICC and the BCCI started promoting the women's game with earnestness, they have showed they are no less than the men.
Higher pay for women will mean that many girls will now be induced to take up the sport as a career. With the Indian women's team coming up with excellent performances of late and many cricketers become stars and household names, women's cricket has attracted a huge following. Sponsors will also follow.
But the ICC and the BCCI now need to fill the sparse calendar of women's cricket with more international matches in all formats. The BCCI has already announced the launch of a T20 league on the lines of the IPL for women. It should be started soon. That will go a long way in both increasing the earnings of the women players and the popularity of the game. Also, it will bring forward new talent and increase India's bench strength like it did in the men's game.
