It is one of the proudest moments for Indians as the Indian women’s cricket team lifted the 2025 Women’s World Cup with a 52-run victory over South Africa. Harmanpreet Kaur made the final catch with tears in her teammates’ eyes as they ran down the field in happiness and disbelief that they had made history.
Former Indian captain Mithali Raj made a shocking revelation regarding players’ fees.
Amid the Indian women’s cricket team’s iconic victory, a clip of former Indian captain Mithali Raj is doing the rounds, in which she talks about the fee each player receives before joining the BCCI. During an interaction with Lallantop, Mithali was asked about each player’s contract. In this regard, he revealed that there was no contract before the BCCI.
The cricketer also shed light on the meager salary each player received per match when they were runners-up in the 2005 World Cup. In his words:
“Annual contract with tha hi nahi, annual contract with BCCI ke under hi aaya hai. There were no match fees, hume koi, match fees nahi tha. If I’m not wrong, jab hum, 2005 runners-up, when we came back after being runners-up in the 2005 World Cup, they gave us Rs 1,000 per match. So we played about eight matches. So, humko koi match fee nahi tha”
When the BCCI introduced pay parity between male and female cricketers
Beyond the glow of the confetti, the women’s team’s victory was more of a validation they got a few years ago. In October 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a bold step during its 15th Apex Council meeting to introduce pay parity between male and female cricketers. They decided that Indian women cricketers will also receive the same match fees as male cricketers.
There were many arguments during that time as many claimed that women’s cricket was not generating any major events or revenue. Over time, the criticism became louder and trolls targeted the BCCI. Two years later, when the women’s team lifted the coveted trophy, it was his answer to all the haters. They repaid the faith that the BCCI showed in them.
To view the video, click here.
What do you think of Mithali Raj’s shocking claims about the salary of female cricketers before joining the BCCI?
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