Contract System Proposed for Women Cricketers in Domestic Circuit

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is contemplating of proposing a contract system for female players of the Indian women’s cricket team who play in the domestic circuit. This revision of pay scale is for those who are competing in the Senior Women's category in the beginning of this season. It has been reported that a contract of approximately Rs 4 lakh per annum is being contemplated.

If the grapevine is to be believed, BCCI's  generosity towards the women’s team is a way to channelize the surplus funds available with them post the success of IPL,  but there has been much speculation on the spending limit and capacity of BCCI because of its spat with the Lodha Committee.

It has been alleged that the board is thinking of granting contract based pay to women’s team to evade the taxes on the surplus amount. The initiative is only at the gestation level and isn’t confirmed yet. But if it does happen, then it will be such a huge boost for the women’s team.

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This isn’t the first time that the board will be bringing up contract system. In 2015, it introduced a contract system for the women representing the country which was divided into two groups of A and B wherein, players of group A were to get Rs 15 lakh per annum and those in group B were to get Rs 10 lakh per annum.

Recently, the board also awarded one-time cash benefits to former female players of the Indian Team at the concluding ceremony of IPL. The players who have represented the country in 1-9 Tests were awarded Rs 15 lakhs while the players who have featured in 10-24 Tests were given Rs 25 lakhs for their contribution to women’s cricket.

It is obvious that the scale of women’s cricket is much lower as compared to men’s. However, the kind of progress the women’s team has made at the global level makes it imperative for BCCI to spend more money on the game and its women players.

Picture credit- espncricinfo