The Indian national women’s team made history on Sunday after winning their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup. They beat South Africa by 52 runs to do so at the DY Patil Stadium.
Women’s cricket has been on the rise in recent years, especially in India with stars like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and more attracting mainstream attention. The introduction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) also added a competitive edge to women’s cricket in the T20 franchise leagues department.
However, the increase in popularity also raises curiosity, and one particular area of interest is how much do India’s women cricketers earn as compared to the men. Here’s what we know.
BCCI Central Contracts For Male and Female Cricketers
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hands out Central Contracts to those who represent the national team on a regular basis. These contracts are also divided into certain categories which dictates a player’s annual salary.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo from earlier this year, top players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma are part of BCCI’s Grade A Central Contract category which pays them Rs 50 lakh a year.
Then there is Grade B, which reportedly pays Rs 30 lakh a year, and finally Grade C, which hands out Rs 10 lakh a year.
As for the men, there is also a similar system, albeit with an additional Grade A+ category, which boasts the likes of veterans Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja.
They, also according to an ESPNcricinfo report, get paid Rs 7 crore a year, followed by Central Contract Grades A, B, and C, which pay Rs 5, 3, and 1 crore anually by the BCCI.
So there apparently is quite a big pay gap between India’s men and women’s cricket teams, however, it must be noted that both sets of players are paid the same match fees.
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