Cricket fraternity hails BCCI's landmark pay equity policy for women and men's players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah took to his official Twitter handle on Thursday and made a sensational announcement for the Indian cricket community. Almost ten days after being re-elected as the secretary of the national cricket board, Shah revealed the board’s decision about paying equal match fees to the India men’s and women’s cricketers. This comes as a welcome news for the Indian cricket circle, who have debated the pay difference for quite a time now. 

Meanwhile, former India women’s captain Mithali Raj was one of the first big names of Indian cricket to shed her thoughts on BCCI’s decision. The women’s cricket legend termed BCCI’s decision a historic one, while also mentioning the introduction of the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) from next year onwards. Mithali thanked the board and the BCCI secretary for taking the call.

Here's what former India women's captain Mithali Raj said

“This is a historic decision for women’s cricket in India! The pay equity policy along with the WIPL next year, we are ushering into a new era for women's cricket in India. Thank you @JayShah Sir & the @BCCI for making this happen. Really happy today,” Former India captain Mithali Raj said.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana react

India captain and vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana reacted to the decision and called it a red letter day for women's cricket in India.

'BCCI has set a standard for other sports bodies,' says Harbhajan Singh

At the same time, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh also shared his thoughts on the announcement by putting out a tweet. Singh revealed his happiness with the decision and hailed BCCI for setting a standard for other sports bodies. He added that the historic decision will lead to greater participation by women in cricket.

“Happy to know that @BCCI has taken the decision of pay equity policy for sportspersons in cricket. BCCI has set a standard for other sports bodies. It will encourage greater participation of women in the game. A historic milestone indeed !  @iRogerBinny @JayShah,” Harbhajan Singh said.

Indian cricketer Amit Mishra also welcomed BCCI's decision.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah's announcement about equal pay

Making the announcement on Thursday, Jay Shah said it is BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination in terms of gender in the sport. “We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted @BCCIWomen cricketers. The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Cricket,” the BCCI secretary said. 

In a follow-up Tweet, Jay Shah revealed that the male and female cricketers of India will be played INR 15 lakhs each for playing a Test match, INR 6 lakhs for playing an ODI and INR 3 lakhs for featuring in a T20 I match. “Pay equity was my commitment to our women cricketers and I thank the Apex Council for their support. Jai Hind,” Jay Shah added.