BCCI announces equal pay for men and women Indian cricketers in historic move

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday made a big announcement, stating that the match fee for both men and women cricketers (contracted) will be the same. The decision to bring women cricketers on par with the men, in terms of match fees, is in many ways a landmark decision. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that the contracted senior women's cricketers will earn the same match fee as their male counterparts.

"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 @BCCIWomen cricketers will be paid the same match fee as their male counterparts. Test (INR 15 lakhs), ODI (INR 6 lakhs), T20I (INR 3 lakhs). Pay equity was my commitment to our women cricketers and I thank the Apex Council for their support. Jai Hind," Shah's tweet stated.

The decision comes just days after it was decided in the BCCI AGM that the first season of the women's IPL will be played in 2023.

Interest in Indian women's cricket has been on an upswing ever since the team finished runners-up in the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup. The team has since gone on to reach the final of the T20 World Cup in 2020 and also won the silver medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Earlier this year, the New Zealand Cricket Board had taken a similar decision, announcing that the women's national team and domestic women's players will receive the same match fees as men.