Landmark step for Indian sport

India is only the second country to enforce pay equity in cricket. This is a welcome decision

Equal pay for equal work is a right worth fighting for. Tennis legend Billie Jean King, who led the charge for pay equality in her sport, said at the Italian Open in 1970: “Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs. I want women to have the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top, too!” But the journey to equality has not been an easy one. On Thursday, half a century after Ms King’s appeal, Indian cricket struck a sweetly timed boundary for gender equality by announcing that women players in the national team will be paid the same match salary as their counterparts in the men’s team. The decision — India becomes only the second country after New Zealand to implement gender pay parity in cricket — comes close on the heels of another long-awaited announcement: The women’s Indian Premier League from 2023 onwards. These steps suggest that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is finally casting a serious eye on women’s cricket — a sport that for years it either patronised or dismissed.

While the journey of women’s international cricket began in India in 1976, it was only in 2006 that the BCCI finally took full control of the sport. At that point, it was expected that women players would now play more often at better grounds, with improved transport, better training, and more robust funding. But the transition was anything but smooth. For two years after taking over, the BCCI didn’t even pay match fees to the players. And when it did, the sum was ₹1 lakh for a whole tour at a time when members of the men’s team were earning ₹2.5 lakh for every Test and ₹1.6 lakh for every One Day International.

Over the last few years, however, there were signs that things were changing. To start with, simple nomenclature that made a big difference: “Batsmen” became “batters” in the Marylebone Cricket Club laws. Then, the number of matches started going up, so did the International Cricket Council events, and the leagues that started springing up around the world. Though there will still be a huge gulf in total earnings between men and women (since they are also entitled to a share of the broadcast revenue pie, which is much higher for men’s cricket) — bringing men and women at the same salary level establishes their parity as proud members of their respective national teams. The move will serve as a reminder to other cricket boards, and other sports bodies, that the time to end the injustice may be long overdue, but the time to act is now.