CHENNAI: In what comes as a major boost for women cricketers in the country, the BCCI has massively increased the domestic match fee after Harmanpreet Kaur and her team lifted the World Cup in Navi Mumbai last month.
Per the latest revision, a senior women cricketer will receive `50,000 per day as match fee (playing member) for one-dayers and multi-day events and `25,000 for T20s (playing member). For the reserves, it would be `25,000 and `12,500, respectively. Previously, the playing XI member would get `20,000 and the reserve player would get `10000. Meanwhile, for age-group cricketers, the new pay would be `25,000 for one-dayers and `12,500 for reserves (one-dayers and T20s). The reserve players will receive `12,500 and `6250, respectively.
This pay raise comes soon after India women ended their ICC trophy drought by beating South Africa and winning the ODI World Cup at home on November 2. A day after the WC triumph, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told this daily that a decision will be taken soon when asked about the central contracts and domestic pay for women. "A lot of new things will come up after yesterday's (Sunday) paradigm shift in our women's cricket. We will do something which we are going to announce in a very short time," Saikia had said at the time. On Monday, the decision was made to increase the domestic match fee of women cricketers during the BCCI Apex Council meeting.
Former India captain Diana Edulji welcomed the BCCI's decision, especially after the World Cup win. "It will encourage a lot more players in domestic cricket to improve also. A very good step taken. I congratulate BCCI. I think women's cricket is on an upward curve at the moment," Edulji told this daily. "We've got a World Cup coming up now. I think there are two good preparations, one to Australia and one in England before that. We have the WPL also. We are on the right track and there's nothing like it if we could win two World Cups in a row," she added.
Currently an advisor to Mumbai Cricket Association, Edulji said that it will help the women cricketers to stay in the game without worrying about the financial burdens. "It's a very, very, very big step. I also hope that someone would have thought of increasing the central contracts also for the India players, because it's long overdue. I'm not saying that bring it on same terms as the men, because I've never been in favour of that at the moment. But definitely they could have doubled that also, especially after the World Cup win. It would motivate the players to do well. I think financial security is very, very important to help the girls come out and just play without any fear and also help the families to bring their daughters onto the ground. That they can make this a career," Edulji said.
It is a point former India captain Shantha Rangaswamy had also made when the BCCI made the match fee equal for international cricketers. "If you increase the match fee in domestic cricket, it will benefit a lot more people. And the minute the financial burden on the parents is not there, a lot more will be encouraged to take up the sport. I am sure, with this positive thinking, even that will happen sooner rather than later," Shantha had said at the time.
Meanwhile, another former player who did not want to be named hoped that the BCCI would also consider some monetary benefits for past cricketers. "I wish something would have been for the past players also. The pension could have been increased. That would have been really a nice thing. We played in an era where there was no money. Something could have been done for the past cricketers as well," the former cricketer said under the condition of anonymity.