Explained: BCCI’s equal pay move and the huge gap that still remains

In a landmark decision on Thursday (October 27), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced equal pay of match fees for both its men and women international cricketers.

The Indian cricket board said it is implementing a ‘pay equity policy’ for its centrally contracted women cricketers.

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In the 15th BCCI Apex Council meeting held via video conference, the members passed the resolution unanimously.

What it means to women’s cricket in India

Prior to this, there was a huge gap between the match fee received by Indian international men cricketers and their female counterparts. With this historic decision, the BCCI has batted for gender equality.

As per the latest decision, the female cricketers will be paid the same match fee as their male counterparts.

For a Test match, the players will receive ₹15 lakhs, ₹6 lakh for an ODI, and ₹3 lakh for a T20I.

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Currently, BCCI’s centrally contracted women cricketers get ₹1 lakh for an ODI or T20I appearance and ₹2.5 lakh for a Test.

BCCI match fees for men and women cricketers

Still enormous gap in annual contracts

While it is a welcome step by the BCCI to pay both men and women equally in terms of match fees, there is still a huge gap when it comes to the annual retainership amount given to men and women cricketers. There is no change in this as of now.

For example, male cricketers have four categories in annual contracts – Grades A+, A, B and C. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are the three male cricketers in Grade A+ and they earn ₹7 crore per year. And for those in A, B and C categories, they receive ₹5 crore, ₹3 crore and ₹1 crore respectively.

BCCI’s annual retainership

If you look at the female cricketers’ annual contracts, there are three categories – A, B and C. In A, players get a retainership fee of ₹50 lakh, followed by ₹30 lakh in B and ₹10 lakh in C.

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The obvious reason for this massive gap is the amount of revenue the men cricketers generate for the Indian cricket board.

Even one of India’s top women players and opening batter Smriti Mandhana agreed and said it was “unfair” to ask for equal pay.

“We need to understand that the revenue we get is through men’s cricket. The day women’s cricket starts earning revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. But right now, we can’t say that,” Smriti had said in 2020.

“I don’t think any of my teammates are thinking about this (pay) gap because the only focus right now is to win matches for India, get the crowd coming in and earn revenues. That what we are aiming for, and if that happens, everything else will fall in place,” she added.

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Further, she stated, “And for that, we need to perform. It is unfair on our part to say that we need to be paid as much as the men – it is not right. So, I don’t think I want to comment on that gap.”

Which are the other countries with equal pay?

In July this year, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced that its male and female cricketers would get equal pay at both domestic and international levels.

The decision came after NZC and players’ association signed a five-year agreement.

Apart from New Zealand, there are other cricket boards, including Australia, that have made efforts to increase pay for female cricketers but there is no talk of equal pay.

Last October, Australia’s female domestic cricketers got a significant increase in player payments.

“A $1.2 million increase in retainers – $800,000 for WNCL (Women’s National Cricket League) and $400,000 for the Weber WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) (T20) – will provide a higher base salary for female cricketers and recognises the crucial role that Australia’s domestic competitions have played in the growth of the game. The investment will see WNCL contracted players receive a 22% increase for 2021-22; and WBBL contracted players receive a 14% increase for 2021-22,” Cricket Australia said.

As of today, India and New Zealand are the only two cricket boards that have adopted equal pay for both men and women cricketers.

More matches for men

According to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Programme, which was released in August, the Indian men’s team will play 141 international matches (excluding ICC tournament games) during the next five-year FTP cycle between May, 2023 to April, 2027. They will play 38 Tests, 42 ODIs and 61 T20Is in the five-year period.

In contrast, the Indian women’s team will play fewer matches, as per the ICC’s inaugural FTP released in August from May, 2022 to April, 2025. They will play 65 bilateral international games (2 Tests, 27 ODIs, 36 T20Is) in the three-year-cycle.

If an Indian male cricketer features in all 141 international matches during the five-year period, he will earn ₹10.05 crore match fee while a woman cricketer, if she plays all 65 games in the FTP cycle till April 2025, will pocked ₹3 crore.

The disparity in ICC World Cup prize money

Even in the ICC World Cup prize money for men and women, there is a huge disparity. Though the ICC increased the prize money for the women’s 50-over World Cup this year, the men’s World Cup gets more than double what the women receive.

In the ICC 2019 World Cup for men, contested by 10 teams, the total prize money was $10 million while for the 8-team 2022 edition of women’s World Cup, the purse was $3.5 million. The men’s 2019 World Cup winner England took home $4 million while the women’s 2022 champion Australia received $1.32 million.

Who said what about BCCI’s historic decision

Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur – “Truly a red-letter day for Women’s Cricket in India with pay parity announced for women and men. Thank you, BCCI and Jay Shah… I am sure now, a lot of cricketers in India will take up cricket as a professional career.”

Indian women’s team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana – “What amazing news for Women’s cricket in India.”

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues – “How good is this for Women’s Cricket in India.”

BCCI president Roger Binny – “In our apex Council meeting, we have made a marquee decision on pay equity for our women cricketers. Our women players will be paid the same match fees as men in international cricket. This decision sets the platform to grow and develop cricket. I believe this is a significant step forward for women’s cricket and the game overall.”

BCCI secretary Jay Shah – “I’m pleased to announce BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted Indian women cricketers. The match fee for both men and women cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality Indian cricket. It was my commitment to our women cricketers and pay equity is an important step towards tackling discrimination… This is a landmark decision as we enter a new era in India Cricket. I would like to thank my colleagues in the BCCI Apex Council.”

Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar – “Cricket has been an equalizer in many ways. This is a welcome step towards gender equality in the game and erasing discrimination from the sport. Very happy with the decision taken by the BCCI and brilliant to see India paving the way forward.”

Former India captain Mithali Raj – “This is a historic decision for women’s cricket in India! The pay equity policy along with the WIPL next year, we are ushering into a new era for women’s cricket in India. Thank you, Jay Shah Sir, and the BCCI, for making this happen. Really happy today.”

Former Australia cricketer Lisa Sthalekar – “So pleasing to see this. Huge news for women’s cricket in India, plus life-changing for individuals. I have no doubt this will help with the perception of the game in the biggest cricket-loving country.”