By Hardik Rajgor
BCCI has announced new contracts for both the mens and womens cricket teams. A few of Kohlis boys will now earn 14 times more money than Mithali & Co. To sum up the irony, they decided to make the announcement just a day before Womens Day.
The pay gap between men and women players of the Indian cricket teams needs more scrutiny than merely comparing final contract figures of male and female cricketers. Not only is it a gender issue, there are also economic realities of the free market attached to it. It is important to understand why these differences exist, how the BCCI generally regarded one of our most corrupt admin bodies has failed, and what they can do to correct course. And theres a lot that the richest sporting body in cricket can do.
Why do male cricketers get paid so much more than their female counterparts?
Think of mens cricket as a chain reaction, where one thing leads to another. Male cricketers attract bigger crowds and large viewership on TV. These in turn attract big sponsorship and branding deals, which result in higher revenues being generated from the game, which then enable these fat cheques and huge monetary contracts for male players.
Think about the success of the Womens Big Bash League in Australia, that has been an economic success and witnessed record viewership in 2017
One of the reasons women are paid less is because sadly womens sport makes less money.
It brings us to a difficult question that needs deeper introspection than just a knee-jerk Twitter outrage. Why do people not follow womens cricket with the same ardour and in the same capacity? If we dont watch the games and follow the teams progress with the same level of obsession that we followed Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharmas wedding, can we really blame sponsors and advertisers if they dont see a similar potential in the womens game? The very people who want equal pay for women players havent adapted to the game. Are we, then, not part of the same problem?
Some arguments have been made about how womens sport isnt as interesting. To which, I call bullshit. One only needs to recollect the enthralling Olympic final between PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin, or thousands of other exciting contests across sports day in and day out. To say that mens sport is 10, 20, or 40 times more interesting to demand that kind of a pay difference, is a ridiculous argument that holds very little ground. Besides, its not true. Think about the success of the Womens Big Bash League in Australia, that has been an economic success and witnessed record viewership in 2017. The 2015 Womens Football World Cup final had more viewership in the US than the mens football world cup final.
The market and the opportunity is right out there. If only we viewers, the BCCI, sponsors, and advertisers knew how to take advantage of it.
It is quite appalling how little Indian womens players are paid compared to their international counterparts in Australia and England.
But we dont, because womens cricket has been primed for failure. This isnt an equal opportunity market at many levels, and the pay cheque is only a small part of it.
This is where the BCCI can make amends. Womens cricket will catch up with the mens game only and only when the body decides to invest in it commercially. This cant happen piecemeal. It has to be at a pace similar to the mens game. They have to ensure infrastructure and quality wherein women dont have to work part-time because sport is not a viable full-time profession. Senior domestic players make around ?30,000 a year, which is ?2,500 per month. You probably pay your house help a little more than that. How can the players be expected to opt for cricket as a full-time career?
It is quite appalling how little Indian womens players are paid compared to their international counterparts in Australia and England. Cricket Australia covers its domestic cricketers under central contracts and also came up with the Womens Big Bash League. Even the England Cricket Board has pledged £3 million for a Womens Twenty20 Super League.
This is an important time to emphasise, yet again, that the BCCI is the richest sporting body in the cricket. In the entire world. What gives?
The solution lies in another chain reaction. If the BCCI decides to invest in the game, women players can think of it as a full-time profession. Which in turn means, that the quality of the players and the overall game will get better. Well see an influx of fans and sponsors that the womens game truly deserves.
India keenly followed the 2017 Womens Cricket World Cup, with the final attracting 19.53 million impressions, making it the most watched womens sporting event in India. Its a no brainer that we love cricket in India, and the women in blue made us super proud. After the end of the tournament, captain Mithali Raj floated the idea of a womens T20 league in India, saying that the time is right.
The BCCI keeps paying lip service, making public statements about doing more for the womens game. Now, however, the time is right for them to put their money where their mouth is. Equal pay will follow.