BCCI's Equal Match Fees for Women Cricketers; A Long Due Correction Happens

  

The  Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
announced Thursday (October 27) that it will implement a new pay equity policy
for its contracted women cricketers, essentially paying men and women
cricketers the same match fees.

The resolution was
approved by the 15th BCCI Apex Council members unanimously, and Indian cricket
players applauded the decision on Twitter. Cricket has been an equalizer in
many ways, according to Sachin Tendulkar. This is a positive step toward
achieving gender equality in sports and eliminating discrimination from them.

According to Jay
Shah, the Honorary Secretary of BCCI, women cricketers will receive the same
match fees as men: Rs 15 lakhs for Test matches, Rs 6 lakhs for ODI matches,
and Rs 3 lakhs for T20I.

Harmanpreet Kaur,
the captain of the Indian women's cricket team, tweeted on Thursday that the
announcement of pay parity for women and men was "truly a red letter day
for women's cricket in India." Thank you, @JayShah and @BCCI.

According to
Reuters, up until this point, Indian men's cricketers received this match fee
for each Test, ODI, and T20 match while Indian women's cricketers received Rs.
4 lakhs for Test matches and Rs. 1 lakh for T20 and ODI matches.

In addition to the
match-based fees, there is a retainership payment system in cricket. In
addition to match fees, women's cricket players receive annual payments of Rs.
50 lakh for Grade A players, Rs. 30 lakh for Grade B players, and Rs. 10 lakh
for Grade C players. The pay for male cricketers, who participate in more
matches, ranges from Rs 7 crore to Rs 1 crore, starting with an A Plus grade.
This won't change for the time being.

According to Roger
Binny, the BCCI's recently-elected president, "Our women players will
receive the same match fees as men in international cricket. This choice
creates the framework for cricket's expansion and advancement. I think the game
and women's cricket have advanced significantly as a result.”

Does India represent the only nation bringing pay parity
to sports?

No, New Zealand did
so in July 2022, becoming the first nation to do so. Across all formats and
competitions, women's players will be paid the same match fees as men thanks to
a five-year agreement between New Zealand Cricket, the nation's governing body
for professional cricket, and the players' association. Equity will also apply
to issues like travel, lodging, and the overall playing and training
environment. Additionally, the men's team still receives higher retainers than
the women.

In addition to
that, With a goal of bringing women's cricket on par with men's cricket,
Australia has recently started ambitious plans to popularize cricket in the
nation this year. The country's national cricket governing body, Cricket
Australia, wants to quadruple the number of girls who play the sport in the
5–12 age range to 60,000 and double the number of boys who play it to 2,10,000.
In recent years, it has also significantly raised women's pay.

Similarly, in May
2022, the Committee of Administrators, which oversees the activities of the
Table Tennis Federation of India, declared that it would award equal prize
money for men and women in all national zonal tournaments, including national
championships across age groups.

The US Soccer
Associations for men and women also this year negotiated agreements for equal
pay, which was a significant step. This was unusual because in most sports, men
are paid more because they play more games and attract larger audiences, which
results in more corporate sponsorship and advertisements. It has been argued,
though, that charging a basic equal fee would encourage more women to
participate in and watch sports, eventually giving them the same level of
support as men's matches.