Match fees more than doubled for women’s domestic cricketers in India

Match fees more than doubled for women’s domestic cricketers in India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has more than doubled match fees for women’s domestic cricketers, significantly boosting pay across senior and age-group competitions. The decision was taken at an Apex Council meeting held in Mumbai on Monday.

Under the revised structure, players named in the playing XI for senior women’s domestic matches will now earn INR 50,000 per day, up from INR 20,000. Reserves will receive half that amount, at INR 25,000 per day.

Match fees at the age-group level have also been revised. Players in the first XI will now earn INR 25,000 per day, while reserves will receive INR 12,500. Previously, age-group players earned INR 10,000 per day if selected in the XI and INR 5,000 as reserves.

As a result of the new structure, an age-group player who features in all league matches and the final can now earn close to INR 5 lakh in a season, compared to just over INR 2 lakh earlier.

The changes are part of the BCCI’s broader efforts to strengthen and elevate the women’s domestic game, especially in the wake of India’s maiden ODI World Cup triumph. There have also been growing calls within the system to review match fees to better support players at the grassroots level.

ESPNcricinfo understands that several leading state coaches and players had pushed internally for a revision, arguing that improved remuneration would help expand and sustain the talent pool—something the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has already helped spotlight. The increase in junior-level pay also reflects the surge in interest among young women, with India winning consecutive Under-19 Women’s World Cups.

In 2022, the BCCI had made a landmark move by bringing match fees for the women’s national team on par with the men’s. Women cricketers now earn INR 15 lakh per Test, INR 6 lakh per ODI and INR 3 lakh per T20I.

However, there has been no revision to central contract values. Players in the highest contract grade continue to earn INR 50 lakh annually, a figure that remains lower than the minimum pay slab for centrally contracted male cricketers.