The BCCI announced equal match fees for men and women cricketers in 2022, but the disparity in central contracts and overall compensation remained massive, sparking debate.
In October 2022, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah announced that the board would implement equal match fees for men's and women's cricketers, making India one of the first major cricketing nations to do so. While the announcement was lauded as a step forward, closer examination revealed that the reality was more nuanced.
The equal match fee applied only to per-match payments. The central contracts — which form the bulk of a cricketer's income from the board — remained vastly different. The highest-paid women's central contract was reportedly around INR 50 lakhs per year, while the top men's contract was INR 7 crores — a 14-fold difference. When endorsements and IPL/WPL contracts were factored in, the gap widened to a chasm.
Critics argued that while equal match fees were symbolic, they amounted to a PR move that obscured the real inequality. Defenders of the BCCI pointed out that the revenue generated by men's and women's cricket was not comparable, and that the women's game was being invested in at unprecedented levels, including the launch of the Women's Premier League in 2023.
The debate highlighted a tension present in women's sport globally: should pay equity be based on revenue generation or on the principle of equal work? The launch of the WPL in 2023, with contracts reaching over INR 3 crore for top players, did significantly improve the financial landscape for women cricketers in India, though the gap with the men's game remains substantial.
The BCCI implemented equal match fees, a positive step. However, the overall compensation gap between men's and women's cricketers remains significant due to differences in central contracts and commercial revenues.
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