Rs 2,000 to Rs 50,000: Indian women cricketers on the fast lane

In a massive boost to the women’s cricket ecosystem in the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) more than doubled the match fees for domestic players on Monday.

The senior women cricketers named in the playing XI will now earn Rs 50,000 per day for a 50-over match and four-day match, an increase of 2.5%.

Even the players who stay as reserves have been bumped up from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per day for the two formats. The hike reflects in T20s as well with those in the playing XI set to earn Rs 25,000 per match.

However, it was not always this bright for women hoping to build their career as a cricketer in the country.

Just under three decades ago, when India hosted the 1997 Women’s World Cup the national team was earning Rs 2,000 per month. Women’s cricket in the country was then governed by the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI).

Even as the BCCI started pulling in big corporate sponsors in the 1990s with Sachin Tendulkar as the poster boy, the WCAI struggled to make ends meet.

"At present, the women's cricket association can pay just Rs 2,000 per month, but we would like to pay at least Rs 10,000," Srirupa Bose, the manager-cum-coach of the Indian team for the 1997 women’s world cup had then told Rediff.com.

At the 2005 women’s world cup, where India reached the final, the women in blue earned Rs 1,000 per match – a stark contrast to the Rs 96,000 the men used to earn eight years prior in 1997.

Things started to look up when WCAI merged into BCCI 19 years ago in 2006 but for nearly a decade, women’s cricket was still treated as an afterthought in India.

It was only in 2015 that the first-ever women’s central contract was handed out – nine years after BCCI took over the sport and 14 years after the first men’s central contracts were announced in 2001.

Even then, the domestic cricket landscape for women in India was a mess.

When the country next hosted the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2013, a senior women’s player in the domestic circuit earned Rs 2,500 per day for the longer formats. It was further down to a mere Rs 1,250 for T20s. These meagre amounts were again taxable.

Just before the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup, where India yet again reached the final, those in the playing XI in the domestic circuit received Rs 3,500 per day.

The 2017 World Cup, however, proved to be a turning point. Players including Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur and others turned into household names, thanks to their splendid showing.

A shift, which was years, in the making finally happened.

In 2017, the BCCI pumped up the pay for senior domestic cricketers in the playing XI to Rs 12,500 for a day. The amount also jumped to Rs 6,500 for a T20.

In the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, the per day fees for senior women in playing XI was increased to Rs 20,000 per day – an amount which is set to be improved upon in the latest round of pay hike.

There is still a long way to go for complete pay parity, but with equal match fee at the international level and from Rs 2,000 monthly for playing in the World Cup to Rs 50,000 per day for a day in the domestic circuit, Indian women's cricketers are finally getting their due.