“Lot of girls will now choose cricket as a professional career” - Harmanpreet Kaur reacts to BCCI’s decision of equal pay for male and female cricketers

India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur has hailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its historic decision to implement an equal pay policy for male and female cricketers of the country. According to the hard-hitting batter, the board’s move is sure to encourage a lot more young girls to take up the sport as a career.

On Thursday, October 27, BCCI secretary Jay Shah took to his official Twitter handle to reveal that the match fee for Indian cricketers will now be the same for both men and women.

Sharing her thoughts on the massive development, Harmanpreet said in a video on Star Sports:

“I am really happy that the BCCI has taken this decision. We have always batted for equal pay and, for the first time in India, women cricketers will get the same amount as their male counterparts.

“I am sure that a lot of girls in India will now choose cricket as a professional career. I am really happy and very thankful to the BCCI for that.”

Earlier in the day, BCCI secretary Shah took to his official Twitter handle and posted:

"I’m pleased to announce @BCCI’s first step towards tackling discrimination. 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 IN Cricket."

Shah added in a follow-up tweet:

“The @BCCIWomen cricketers will be paid the same match fee as their male counterparts. Test (INR 15 lakhs), ODI (INR 6 lakhs), T20I (INR 3 lakhs). Pay equity was my commitment to our women cricketers and I thank the Apex Council for their support. Jai Hind 🇮🇳.”

The India women’s team recently lifted their seventh Asia Cup title, thumping the Sri Lanka women by eight wickets in the final in Sylhet earlier this month.

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Harmanpreet Kaur has played a key role in the rise of India women’s cricket

Apart from Mithali Raj’s stellar contributions, Harmanpreet has also played a crucial role in the rising fortunes of India women’s cricket. The current skipper led the team to the final of the Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022) earlier this year.

Under her, India recently thumped England Women 3-0 in a ODI series in England. Harmanpreet herself starred with an unbeaten 143 off 111 balls in the second match of the series in Canterbury.

The Indian captain has played 124 ODIs and 137 T20Is so far, scoring 3322 and 2694 runs, respectively