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The Women\u2019s World Cup 2025 is currently taking place in India, but the Indian women’s cricket team is facing challenges after an initial strong performance. They began the tournament by winning against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but have now suffered three consecutive losses to South Africa, Australia, and England. This has left them in a tough spot on the points table with only four points from five matches.<\/p>\n
As the team struggles, some fans are questioning the fairness of pay parity between the women’s and men’s teams.<\/strong> The Indian women’s cricket team does receive the same match fees as their male counterparts. <\/p>\n Former BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah, introduced a groundbreaking pay equity policy for contracted female cricketers in October 2022.<\/strong> This policy ensures that players in the Indian women\u2019s team are paid INR 15 lakh for Test matches, INR 6 lakh for One Day Internationals (ODIs), and INR 3 lakh for Twenty20 matches, matching the fees earned by male players.<\/p>\n Despite the equal match fees, the annual salaries for women cricketers still fall short compared to their male equivalents. The women’s team operates under three contract categories: Grade A, B, and C, while the men’s team has four categories\u2014Grade A+, A, B, and C.<\/p>\n For the 2024\u20132025 cycle, players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are included in the highest-paid A+ category of the men’s team. Meanwhile, the women’s team can reach only Grade A, which currently includes players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur.<\/p>\n According to an official BCCI statement, players in the A+ category earn INR 7 crore annually, while those in Categories A, B, and C earn INR 5 crore, INR 3 crore, and INR 1 crore, respectively. In contrast, women cricketers in Category A make INR 50 lakh, while those in Categories B and C earn INR 30 lakh and INR 10 lakh respectively. This shows a clear disparity between the pay scales of the two teams.<\/p>\n There are valid reasons for this pay gap, primarily because Indian men’s cricket currently attracts more fans due to their impressive track record, including seven major ICC trophies. On the other hand, the women\u2019s team is still striving for a major championship, although they have been runners-up thrice. Additionally, the Indian Premier League (IPL) stands as the second most valuable sports league globally, after the NFL.<\/p>\n In recent years, women\u2019s cricket has seen tremendous growth, supported by the BCCI’s launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), along with regular broadcasts. This exposure has helped stars like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur become well-known figures across the country.<\/p>\n As women\u2019s cricket develops, winning a major ICC trophy could help close the pay gap with the men\u2019s team. Former Indian women’s team captain Anjum Chopra shared her thoughts on this in a 2020 interview, stating, “They should compare themselves with the best women’s team globally, that is the Australian team. This would be a more accurate comparison rather than with the men’s teams.”<\/p>\n Chopra emphasized, “The Australian women\u2019s team receives equal pay as their men\u2019s team because they have won the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup. For us, it\u2019s essential to focus on competing at that level to earn similar recognition and pay.” She concluded that equal pay for Indian women is achievable, but winning a World Cup is crucial.<\/p>\n – Ends<\/p>\nThe Pay Gap in Central Contracts<\/h3>\n
Growth in Women’s Cricket<\/h3>\n