Revenue We Get Is Through Men's Cricket: Smriti Mandhana

"We need to understand that the revenue which we get is through men's cricket. The day women's cricket starts getting revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. But right now, we can't say that," Smriti Mandhana told reporters at an event to unveil Power's new range of shoes. Her statement comes a week after BCCI announced central contracts for both men and women cricketers. According to it, the top male players were given an annual salary of  seven crores while the top female cricketers were paid just Rs 50 lakhs.

Mandhana, however, believes that it will be unfair to ask for equal pay. "I don't think any of my teammates think about this gap because the only focus right now is to win matches for India and get the crowd coming in, get the revenue."

"For that, we need to perform. It is unfair on our part to say that we need same pay, it is not right. So I don't think I want to comment on that gap," she added.

Smriti and her team are prepping up for the Women's T20 World Cup in Australia. Their final preparatory tournament will be the tri-series featuring Australia and England which begins in Down Under on January 31.

"For that, we need to perform. It is unfair on our part to say that we need same pay, it is not right. So I don't think I want to comment on that gap," - Smriti Mandhana

"Its (tri-series) going to be really important leading up to the World Cup because we are playing the best teams. We will understand our strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, players will get a hang of the conditions in Australia and that will help us immensely," she said.

She also added that she is working towards making the youngsters feel comfortable.

"We need to understand that the revenue which we get is through men's cricket. The day women's cricket starts getting revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. But right now, we can't say that." - Smriti Mandhana

Also: Meet Summayah Jan: Kashmir’s Chief Female Cricket Coach

More about Smriti Mandhana

The stellar batswoman was awarded the ODI Player of the Year by ICC in 2019. The talented player received the award after her outstanding performance at the Women’s T20 Challenge.

She is only the second Indian woman to win an International Cricket Council award.

Smriti Mandhana also made it to the ‘Forbes India 30 Under 30’ list last year. Last year, she also became the second fastest Indian after Shikhar Dhawan, and the third fastest woman after Belinda Clark and Meg Lanning to score 2,000 runs in one-day internationals.

Ace batswoman Mandhana was also awarded with the Arjuna Award last year by the Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijeju in a ceremony held in New Delhi.

Also: Why Women’s Indian Premier League Is The Need Of The Hour