BCCI Increases Domestic Match Fee For Women Cricketers, Major Boost For Women’s Cricket

In a major step towards strengthening women’s domestic cricket, the Apex Council of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to double women players’ match fees. The BCCI women match fees decision introduces a uniform payment structure across domestic cricket. Going forward, players featuring in the starting XI will earn Rs 50,000 per day, while those named on the bench will receive Rs 25,000 per day, marking a significant upgrade in domestic cricket earnings.

New Uniform Match Fee Structure Explained

As part of the BCCI women match fees overhaul, the Apex Council has also revised payments at the age group level in domestic cricket. Players who are part of the playing XI at junior levels will now get Rs 25,000 per day, while those on the bench will earn Rs 12,500 per day. This new domestic cricket structure ensures greater financial support for women cricketers across all levels of competition.

What Women Cricketers Earned Earlier

During the Apex Council meeting held on Monday evening, officials reviewed the existing BCCI women match fees before approving the increase. Until now, senior women players in domestic cricket were paid Rs 20,000 per day, with reserves receiving Rs 10,000. Junior women cricketers earned Rs 10,000 per day if they played in the XI and Rs 5,000 if they were part of the bench. This meant that even after playing all league matches in senior domestic cricket, women cricketers earned only around Rs 2 lakh per season. With the revised BCCI women match fees, that amount has now doubled.

Revised Match Fees for Domestic T20 Cricket

The updated BCCI women match fees also apply to domestic T20 cricket. Under the new system, players who make the playing XI in domestic T20 matches will receive Rs 25,000 per game, while those on the bench will be paid Rs 12,500. This change further strengthens the financial structure of women’s domestic cricket and aligns payments more closely with workload and performance.

Pay Parity Push After World Cup Success

Following India’s ICC 50 over World Cup victory, expectations of a revised pay structure in domestic cricket had grown. In 2022, the BCCI had already taken a landmark step by announcing equal match fees for men and women at the international level. As per that policy, any player featuring in Test cricket earns Rs 15 lakh per match, while ODI and T20I players receive Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively. The latest BCCI women match fees hike builds on that momentum at the domestic level.

Prize Money Comparison at ICC World Cup

Even at the ICC World Cup that India won, prize money reflected progress toward financial equity. The women’s tournament offered a total prize pool of $13.88 million, compared to $10 million for the men’s World Cup held in 2023. These developments have strengthened the case for continued investment in women’s domestic cricket through improved BCCI women match fees.

Umpires Match Fee Decision Still Pending

While the Apex Council has cleared the BCCI women match fees increase, a decision on umpires’ match fees is still pending. The umpires committee, which includes Amish Saheba, Sudhir Asnani and L Hariharan, has proposed scrapping the current grouping system for umpires in domestic cricket. At present, 186 umpires are divided into four categories A+, A, B and C.

Concerns Raised Over Umpire Grouping System

According to the umpires committee, the existing system of promotion and demotion is not working effectively. The committee noted that the number of non performing umpires in the top A+ and A groups is higher, while performances in Group B and C have been comparatively better. Since match fees vary according to grouping, the committee felt that performing umpires were being unfairly paid less for the same work in domestic cricket.

Apex Council to Review Umpires Fees Next Month

Given these concerns, the committee believes changes are necessary to ensure fairness in payments. However, the Apex Council has not taken a final call yet. It is understood that the BCCI Apex Council will revisit the issue of umpires match fees in domestic cricket at another meeting scheduled for next month.