Women cricketers can look forward to some “happy” times following the recent announcement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to offer them central contracts, a decision long pending.
Veteran spinner Diana Edulji welcomed the idea. “It will make a world of difference to young kids wanting to play cricket. There is incentive now because if you do well, you get paid well. It is so different from our time. We had mooted these ideas to the earlier regime, but our requests were dismissed,” said Edulji.
Having earned nothing from the game, Edulji was glad that today’s players were in a position to take home something. “We got nothing. No match fee at all. We often paid from our pocket to play for the country. But, we have no regrets. I am glad that today the girls are assured of good returns if they perform well. It must be remembered that our girls, with eight new faces, beat England in the one-off Test last year in England.”
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A current woman player receives Rs. 2500 per match, while payment for a tour is one lakh. Board secretary Anurag Thakur remarked: “We do recognise the efforts of women cricketers. This is a step in that direction. The idea is to give confidence to young girls to try and make a career in cricket. Our team did extremely well in winning the one-off Test in England last year. We want to assure the women’s cricket fraternity that the BCCI will do its best in promoting and popularising the game. We are going to organise more tours and tournaments for the women cricketers.”
Pension scheme Edulji, even as she thanked the authorities for this “encouraging” step, hoped that the Board would look at the possibility of giving pension to players who figured in less than five Tests. “It is good the BCCI is thinking about women cricketers now. In men’s cricket, three IDOs make one Test. It will be nice if they extend this rule to women cricketers too. More players would qualify for the pension if that happens, because we have a lot of girls who are stuck in the 1-4 bracket,” Edulji noted.
Former India captain Shubhangi Kulkarni was delighted at the development. “We have waited for this too long. It will encourage a lot of players to take to the game now, and that will help in the development of the game. If the pension scheme is extended to more players, it will motivate them to do better. This development is going to be good for the profile of women’s cricket in India.”
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More tournaments Shubhangi supported Edulji in the demand for more cricket tournaments. “We need to play more Test matches and tournaments. Money is important, but the game will improve a lot if the youngsters get to play more. Once the team does well and gets good exposure, sponsors will also step in. Look at how kabaddi has become popular.”
Big boost For India captain Mithali Raj, it was a “big boost” for women’s cricket. “It will provide financial security to players from meagre backgrounds and also extra motivation to perform well in order to keep their contracts.”
She also felt, “Playing more Test matches will improve our standard, and it will attract more people.”
Diana and Shubhangi also suggested an increase in match fees and the possibility of one-time benefit for women cricketers. “It will be nice if the BCCI allows us to participate in the Asian Games. It will mean a sure-shot gold and financial gain for the players,’ said Edulji.