New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will discuss the adjustment of the compensation structure for women cricketers at its 31st Apex Council meeting on December 22. The meeting will take place online and begin at 7:00 p.m.
Among the six agenda items mentioned for the meeting, the revision of payment for female cricketers in domestic cricket is listed at number two and is critical, given that inequities still exist.
As per the last revision made in 2021, for a domestic one-day game, senior women’s players are paid Rs 20,000 per match, hiked from the previous amount of Rs 12,500, IANS reported.
For the women’s U23, U19 and U15 players, players are currently getting Rs 10,000. Reserve players in all women’s tournaments would get 50 per cent of the amount.
In between, the senior women’s zonal red-ball tournament also restarted, which means its pay scale also needs a proper structure. Sources familiar with the matter told IANS on Thursday that revising women’s domestic payment is a good and much-needed move.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side winning this year’s ODI World Cup also means a revision of the women’s central contracts is also a big likelihood, considering ‘Annual Player Retainership Contracts’ is listed as agenda number five.
As of now, the highest central contract amount for women’s cricket is Rs 50 lakh -- which is half of the amount of the lowest grade in men's cricket (Grade C) -- followed by 30 lakh and 10 lakh in the next two brackets.
Central contracts for the men’s team will also be on the agenda, with particular focus on the grade of batting stalwarts and former skippers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The duo have stepped away from Tests and T20Is, which makes their categorisation a matter of interest ahead of the new cycle.
With Shubman Gill becoming Test skipper and ODI captain, as well as T20I vice-captain, his grade of central contract will be of great interest. The meeting is also expected to finalise revisions to the fees of umpires and match referees, as well as seek an update on BCCI’s digital properties.
This is also the first Apex Council meeting since the new office bearers; President Mithun Manhas, Treasurer Raghuram Bhat, along with Vice President Rajeev Shukla, Secretary Devajit Saikia and Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, were elected on September 28.
Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) President Jaydev Shah was also elected to the Apex Council as a representative of the general body.