The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah on Thursday said that as part of the board’s pay equity policy, the women’s cricket team players will hereon receive the same match fee as their male counterparts.

“BCCI announced implementing pay equity policy for its contracted Women cricketers. In the 15th BCCI Apex Council meeting held via video conference, the members passed the resolution unanimously,” a press release from the board stated.

The decision was first announced by Shah on Twitter.

“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 the same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Indian cricket,” Shah wrote in a 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.”

This comes two weeks after the women’s team won the Asia Cup.

New BCCI president Roger Binny said, “In our Apex Council meeting today, we have made a marquee decision on pay equity for our women cricketers. Our women players will be paid the same match fees as men in international cricket. This decision sets the platform to grow and develop cricket. I believe this is a significant step forward for women’s cricket and the game overall.”

Based on matches played since the start of 2021, this is how the proposed pay structure would look like.

(Table by Scroll.in)

This move comes on the back of BCCI deciding in its Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on 18 October to launch the much-awaited Women’s Indian Premier League.

“The General Body approved to conduct the Women’s Indian Premier League,” said Jay Shah in the statement issued by BCCI detailing the key decisions made at the AGM.

The other details of the tournament are not known at this point.

The BCCI had been conducting the Women’s T20 challenge up until now, which featured three teams in the most recent edition and had four matches. The Women’s Big Bash League, FairBreak Invitational, Women’s Hundred and Women’s Caribbean Premier League are the top leagues in the women’s game at the moment.

The Indian women’s cricket team were recently runners-up at the Commonwealth Games, and champions at the Asia Cup.

Earlier this year, in July, New Zealand cricket had announced equal match fees as well.

“New Zealand’s professional women’s and men’s cricketers will receive the same pay for the same work on the same day, in a landmark agreement struck between NZC, the six Major Associations, and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association,” the NZC had said.

“The five-year deal, the first in which the men’s and women’s professional environments have been combined in one agreement, will see the WHITE FERNS and domestic women’s players receiving the same match fees as the men across all their formats and competitions.”