Exclusive: BCCI’s landmark pay parity decision will transform women’s cricket in India, claims Anjum Chopra

Just
like
their
male
counterparts,
Indian
women
cricketers
will
now
be
receiving
Rs
15
Lakh
in
a
Test,
Rs
6
Lakh
in
an
ODI
and
Rs
3
Lakh
in
a
T20I.
The
said
move
is
a
massive
upgrade
for
the
female
players
as
they
used
to
roughly
get
around
Rs
20,000
per
match
till
now.
The
said
hike
is
an
increase
of
1500
per
cent
for
the
women
cricketers
representing
India
on
the
international
stage.

The
entire
cricket
fraternity
is
lauding
the
BCCI
for
this
decision
and
ushering
in
a
new
era,
and
former
Indian
women’s
cricket
captain
Anjum
Chopra
is
no
different.

In
an
exclusive
chat
with

MyKhel,
Chopra
(45)
claimed
the
landmark
decision
will
have
far-reaching
implications
in
women’s
cricket
and
explained
how
it
will
act
as
a
catalyst
for
change
for
future
generations.

Here
are
the
excerpts:

MyKhel:
What
is
your
take
on
the
BCCI’s
decision
on
equal
match
fees
for
men
and
women
cricketers
and
how
is
it
going
to
transform
women’s
cricket
in
India?

Anjum
Chopra:
It
is
a
landmark
move.
Very
happy
with
the
announcement
as
it’s
a
confidence-boosting
and
encouraging
move
for
women
cricketers.
However,
at
the
same
time,
it
also
puts
some
extra
responsibility
on
their
shoulders.

Everyone
who’s
playing
for
India
is
a
good
player
and
a
responsible
player.
Now
that
they
are
getting
paid
more
means
they
are
also
grabbing
more
eyeballs.
So,
they
will
have
to
consistently
raise
the
level
of
their
game.

The
pressure
(of
performance)
also
tags
along
with
that.
Why
do
we
value
Virat
Kohli?
We
value
him
and
his
knocks
because
he
soaks
the
pressure
of
more
than
a
billion
people
with
utmost
ease
and
performs
well
even
in
a
high-pressure
India-Pakistan
contest
in
the
T20
World
Cup.

However,
I
also
believe
money
is
not
the
only
reason
they
should
be
playing
well.
Cricket
is
to
be
played
in
the
same
way.
You
can’t
play
a
drive
differently.
But
what
this
increase
in
match
fee
actually
does
is
that
it
encourages
the
present
lot.

It
won’t
make
a
difference
to
someone
who’s
already
earning
say
Rs
50
lakh
annually.
She
might
get
an
extra
Rs
10-20
lakh.
But
it
would
do
a
world
of
good
for
someone
who
was
previously
earning
one
lakh
in
match
fees
and
didn’t
have
the
central
contract.

That
player
will
now
earn
Rs
10-20
lakhs.
In
the
current
Indian
side,
there
are
many
such
young
girls
and
this
remuneration
is
going
to
help
those
who
do
not
come
from
a
well
to
do
families.

This
move
is
a
massive
confidence
booster
for
a
young
girl
of
15
or
16
years
who
aspires
to
be
a
cricketer.
Neither
she
nor
her
parents
will
have
to
worry
about
her
future,
for
she
can
now
have
a
defined
career
path
in
women’s
cricket.
It
will
send
a
positive
message
that
if
you’re
good
enough,
you
can
play
for
India
and
build
a
prospective
career
in
cricket.

MK:
Do
you
see
a
pay
parity
in
the
central
contract
in
Indian
cricket,
say
five
years
down
the
line?

Anjum
Chopra:
That’s
not
my
goal.
It
might
be
a
vision
or
goal
for
people
who
are
handling
that.
I
am
not
saying
they
are
wrong
in
their
vision.
From
where
I
see
it,
I
want
a
girl
child
to
first
play
any
sport.
I
want
her
to
come
out
of
a
luxurious
environment
and
play
the
sport
even
in
the
extremes
of
climate.

Next,
I
would
want
to
see
the
girls,
who
are
playing
cricket,
should
be
encouraged
to
stay
invested
in
the
sport
and
see
if
there
is
enough
reason
for
that
kid
or
her
parents
to
allow
their
child
to
stay
invested
in
the
sport
for
whichever
reason
(whether
it
is
monetary/career/admission
into
a
college/or
passion
for
the
sport).

Then
my
third
target
will
be
to
have
a
pool
of
players
and
ensure
those
players
are
progressing
gradually
to
have
a
good
supply
chain
for
the
Indian
team.
My
next
goal
will
be
to
ensure
the
Indian
women’s
cricket
team
is
skilful
enough
to
beat
any
team
in
the
world.

Then
my
target
is
to
see
if
the
team
is
worthy
enough
to
become
a
world
champion
and
how
consistently
can
it
maintain
its
dominance.
So,
I
am
thinking
along
those
lines.
Once
that
is
taken
care
of,
everything
will
automatically
fall
into
place.

MK:
What
about
domestic
cricket
because
the
players
need
a
lot
of
support
at
the
domestic
level
for
sustenance
and
growth?

Anjum
Chopra:
Yes,
I
believe
that
is
also
in
the
pipeline.
If
you
remember,
during
the
COVID-19
times
the
BCCI
was
mulling
offering
contracts
to
domestic
players
as
well.
I
am
sure
the
board
is
working
in
that
direction
along
with
its
stakeholders.
It
is
a
time
taking
process
because
there
are
several
domestic
cricket
associations
involved.

I
think
the
board
is
working
on
the
modalities
because
a
player
from,
say
Nagaland,
will
not
get
an
annual
contract
equal
to
what
a
player
from,
say
Mumbai
Cricket
Association
will
get.
Similarly,
the
domestic
structure
of
women’s
cricket
also
needs
to
improve.
They
need
to
get
more
games
because
at
the
moment
they
are
not
playing
more
than
20-25
white-ball
matches
annually.
The
more
they
play,
the
better
they
become.

However,
things
have
changed
for
good
at
the
domestic
level.
Now,
these
young
girls
are
getting
to
stay
in
good
hotels
and
their
allowances
are
decent
enough.
So
their
family
members
don’t
have
to
take
care
of
the
travel
and
food
expenses
of
their
wards.

As
I
mentioned,
the
domestic
contracts
to
the
players
in
the
days
to
come
will
guarantee
players
above
19
years
of
age,
a
regular
source
of
income.
Women’s
IPL
will
also
help
improve
the
living
standards
of
the
female
players
once
it
starts.

It
will
also
increase
the
supply
chain
for
the
national
side.
If
there
is
a
pool
of
18-20
players
at
the
moment,
we’ll
have
a
talent
pool
of
25-30
in
a
couple
of
years’ time
after
the
start
of
WIPL.

MK:
The
existing
IPL
franchises
have
shown
interest
in
owning
Women’s
IPL
teams
as
well.
Do
you
think
their
experiences
will
help
the
WIPL
start
on
a
better
note
for
they
already
have
the
experience
of
taking
care
of
the
men’s
teams?

Anjum
Chopra:
Yes,
the
learning
phase
will
be
comparatively
lesser
because
all
the
existing
franchisees
are
very
tuned
to
exactly
what
needs
to
be
done.
They
know
what
needs
to
be
done
so
logistically
and
systematically
it
will
be
easier.
However,
the
only
challenge
for
them
will
be
picking
up
the
players
from
the
talent
pool.

When
the
men’s
IPL
started,
that
time
out
of
a
pool
of
120-130
players
you
knew
100
or
110
players
by
name
because
they
were
all
international
players,
domestic
players
and
Indian
players.

However,
that
awareness
is
missing
in
women’s
cricket.
So
the
challenge
they’ll
face
is
that
they
will
need
to
identify
the
right
talent,
analyze
their
strengths
and
weaknesses
and
structure
the
team.
But
the
good
part
is
that
every
franchise
has
its
machinery
in
place
as
their
talent
scouts
are
working
all
around
the
year
to
identify
players
from
all
parts
of
the
world.

So,
I
won’t
be
surprised
if
the
existing
franchisees
have
already
asked
the
talent
scouts
to
simultaneously
identify
female
cricketers
as
well.
So,
if
the
IPL
took
three
years,
it
might
take
Women’s
IPL
only
two
years,
you
never
know.
But
for
the
WIPL
to
work
like
well-oiled
machinery,
it
might
take
some
time
for
obvious
reasons.

MK:
Who
according
to
you
was
the
biggest
takeaway
from
the
Women’s
Asia
Cup
2022?

Anjum
Chopra:
Deepti
Sharma
and
Jemimah
Rodrigues
were
the
best
performers
for
India
in
the
tournament.
But
Deepti
Sharma
for
me
was
the
biggest
takeaway.
After
the
50-over
World
Cup
in
New
Zealand
in
February-March,
she
was
dropped
from
the
team.
She
was
then
named
captain
of
the
Velocity
team
during
the
Women’s
T20
Challenge.
She
hasn’t
looked
back
from
then
on
and
has
improved
on
every
outing.