Smriti Mandhana believes current pay parity between men's and women's cricket team is justified 

Indian women’s team cricketer Smriti Mandhana discussed the issue of pay parity in Indian cricket and stated that she’s not bothered by a lower paycheque than her male counterparts, as she understands that the revenue women’s cricket gets is through the men’s team.

The ICC woman cricketer of the year was very forthcoming in her opinion on the matter and acknowledged the fact that women’s cricket in the country doesn’t pique the interest of the crowd like men’s cricket does.

Also see – PSL schedule

Mandhana also went on to say that the day women’s cricket starts raking in the kind of revenue that men’s cricket does, she’ll be the first player to vouch for parity in pay for women’s cricketers.

"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," she told reporters.

The male cricketers in the top bracket of BCCI’s central contract list are entitled to a remuneration of ₹7 crores. On the other hand, a female cricketer in the highest bracket of the contact list rakes in only ₹50 lakhs by comparison.

Although the disparity in payments is quite visibly huge, Mandhana maintains that none of the female cricketer’s in the country are thinking about this.

According to her, their only focus currently is on winning matches for India, excelling at the biggest stages for the country and compelling the people of the country to support the women’s team with the same passion and dedication as the men’s team.

"I don't think any of the teammates is thinking about this gap because the only focus right now is to win matches for India, get the crowd coming in, get the revenue. That is the thing which we are aiming for and if that happens all other things are going to fall in place," she said.

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