The floodgates opened by Harmanpreet Kaur & Co’s World Cup win are unleashing wave after positive wave. There is the satisfaction every player steps onto the field for, the pride of parents and coaches who support from the sidelines, the inspiration of young girls and boys everywhere who will vocalise their dreams with less diffidence, and the inevitable claiming of credit.
There has even been talk on whether the ₹51-crore bonus the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced for the team and the support staff was enough. It’s an exceptionally good space for women’s cricket to be in, and those who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes will take the win. But India’s win also presents a tremendous opportunity—one that does not come by often enough—and it will be interesting to see if the BCCI has the alacrity to seize it.
The question around the bonus is tricky. For starters, a bonus is not something you demand. When the Indian men’s team won the Champions Trophy, they received a bonus of ₹58 crore, and given that the men’s contingent is larger, the difference in amount is negligible. But this is the first World Cup win for the women, and you can see why there was the thought that the BCCI could have been more generous.
The other side of that coin is that women’s cricket does not yet attract the sort of viewership the men’s team does. And it is from this that revenue follows—an aspect the administrators fall back on to justify equal pay for matches (men and women play games of the same duration), but different pay scales in central contracts.
Also, the women play far fewer matches and therefore are remunerated less. This too is a complex issue, as the BCCI and perhaps the England and Australia boards are financially well enough to plough money into the women’s game; but this is not the case elsewhere. Even if the BCCI wanted to give the Indian team more opportunities, the calendar would not come close to matching the men’s game because there isn’t enough viable opposition to play.
Now, all these are ground realities, but the opportunity before the Indian board is a clear one. While it must be acknowledged that the men’s and women’s games are different ecosystems, it is less clear if the BCCI recognises its obligation to promote and support the men’s and women’s games with equal intent and resources.
The ‘returns’—for want of a better word—from the women’s game will be relatively insignificant compared to the men’s. And yet, the game is not administered by the Board of Control for Men’s Cricket in India. The opportunity before the BCCI is to embrace genuine inclusivity. If they see investing in women’s cricket as its responsibility, and not as doing a favour to a game that cannot sustain itself financially, this World Cup win would have served its truest purpose.
In the men’s game, the BCCI has reaped the benefits of inclusivity. It was not that long ago that the sport was concentrated in metros. Anyone from smaller cities had to travel far to access infrastructure, coaching, and technical know-how.
That changed when talent fought its way from the hinterland to the highest level—Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s being an especially illustrative case. This then led to more investment, which in time ensured wider representation and access to a much larger talent pool.
In that sense, the BCCI has proof of concept in terms of investing in underserved sections of cricket in India. It pays dividends, and they have the money to do so. The will has historically been lacking; but that, too, has changed.
The women’s team is better supported in terms of access to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, quite possibly the best preparatory facility in cricket in the world that attracts top-notch coaching talent. Amol Muzumdar is rightly getting credit for holding this team together, but others such as W V Raman and Ramesh Powar also played a part in laying the foundations. India’s women now travel well and stay in comfort, and this has trickled down to the state level with the more responsible associations.
All the incremental improvements are welcome, but what will be a game-changer is a genuine paradigm shift. If the BCCI hopes to grow the women’s game to greater strength, it needs other stakeholders to come to the party. Grounds must be filled, and to this end, series and tournaments must be planned in advance, with spectators given access to the same facilities as at men’s matches. Broadcasters must see value in women’s cricket, and the television rights need to be priced smartly. Sponsors have to get a genuine return on investment and stop viewing women’s cricket as a part of their corporate social responsibility budget.
For all this to happen—and there is no reason it cannot—the first step is for the BCCI to put its money where its mouth is. The question should not be whether a ₹51-crore bonus is enough. Instead, it should be: where can we find the money to make this even bigger? Thankfully, the BCCI have no real difficulty on that count. All that remains is for them to be true to their name, and not see women’s and men’s cricket as two different entities.
Anand Vasu | Journalist who has covered cricket for more than 25 years
(Views are personal)