BCCI announces landmark pay hike for women's domestic cricketers in India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has more than doubled the match fees in women’s domestic cricket, increasing them from INR 20,000 to INR 50,000 for the players part of the first XI in senior competitions, while the reserve players will be entitled to 50% of that amount (INR 25,000). The decision was formalised at the Apex Council meeting on December 24 in Mumbai.

The pay for the age-group level has also been revised, with players who are part of first XIs entitled to receive INR 25,000 per day, and reserves half of that amount (INR 12,500). The current remuneration for age-group player part of first XIs was INR 10,000 while the reserves earned INR 5000. Before revision, the fee structure added up to a touch over INR 2 lakh per season, provided they played all the fixtures, including the final. That number has gone up to INR 5 lakh (approx.) following the revision.

The landmark development comes in the wake of India’s titular triumph in the 2025 ODI World Cup, which they won after defeating South Africa in a tense final. Reportedly, several prominent state coaches and players had voiced in favour of such a change to widen the talent pool and increase the number of players coming through WPL.

The interest in cricket amongst women, especially young ones, has been on a historic rise in India, more so after the recent World Cup triumph at home and India’s two consecutive title-winning shows at the Under-19 World Cup. The BCCI is understandably aiming to capitalise on the same, not limiting the pay revision to the senior level but providing the benefit to junior level players as well.

The BCCI introduced pay parity in 2022, revising the pay of women cricketers to bring it at par with men. Ever since, each player earns INR 15 lakh per Test match, while they receive INR 6 and INR 3 lakh for every ODI and T20I, respectively.