Shashank Manohar made a slew of promises as he began his second innings as Board of Control for Cricket in India president on Monday. Among them was a declaration that the BCCI would finally grant women cricketers central contracts – a minimum pay assurance. “We will continue to work on women’s cricket and I hope this move will encourage more and more young girls to take up the sport,” Manohar said.
Former India captain Anjum Chopra welcomed the development. “It’s a brilliant move by the BCCI,” said the Arjuna award winner. “It will give young women players a sense of security. No one plays the game just for money, but there will be an added incentive now.”
Long time coming
Central contracts for women are certainly a step in the right direction. But perhaps the move should have come a little earlier. The policy was introduced for the men’s cricket team in 2001. The BCCI only took women’s cricket under its wings in 2006, but it’s taken the administrative body nearly a decade to offer central contracts to these players. Before Manohar’s announcement, India was the only major cricketing nation not to have a defined pay structure for women.
Sudha Shah, another former cricketer, recalls how money was hard to come by during her playing days. “The money in women’s cricket was negligible, so we had to spend a lot of our own money to keep playing," she said. "Hopefully that will be a thing of the past now. Many players came from humble backgrounds. Sheer passion for the game kept them going.”
Sunita Sharma, a Dronacharya award winner and one of the few women coaches, feels central contracts are only the first step. “There is so much more the BCCI should do," she said. "They should have a dedicated office in the organisation for women’s cricket. Often, there is no transparency about match fees and a lot of fudging happens. The BCCI should grow the game more, especially at the school level.”
Past pitfalls
When the Women's Cricket Association of India merged with the BCCI in 2006, women cricketers had hoped the move would result in some positive changes. Unfortunately, it proved to a disappointment. Between 2006 and 2014, the Indian women’s team did not play a single Test match. In addition, the team fared poorly in other formats of the game. In 2014, when they finally played a Test match, the Indian team pulled off something quite spectacular – beating England in England. Most of the players were making their Test debuts.
Shilu Ranganathan, one of the first administrators of the women’s game in India, cited the 2013 Women’s World Cup as an example of the BCCI’s apathy. “The last World Cup [in 2013] was held only in Mumbai," she said. "The 1997 World Cup, which was organised by the Women’s Cricket Association of India, was staged all over India.” Ranganathan compared the BCCI’s attitude to women’s cricket to “swallowing a bitter pill”.
But putting aside the past, there is reason to believe that the upper echelons of the current BCCI administration have the best interests of women’s cricket at heart. Sharma and Shah were hopeful that given Manohar's credentials as an able administrator, he would do more to improve the women’s game.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has shown interest in the women’s game at the state level. Under Thakur’s presidency, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association introduced India’s first residential academy for women players. With Manohar and Thakur at the helm, it is hoped that the BCCI will allocate a portion of its vast riches to benefit women’s cricket.
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Former India captain Anjum Chopra welcomed the development. “It’s a brilliant move by the BCCI,” said the Arjuna award winner. “It will give young women players a sense of security. No one plays the game just for money, but there will be an added incentive now.”
Long time coming
Central contracts for women are certainly a step in the right direction. But perhaps the move should have come a little earlier. The policy was introduced for the men’s cricket team in 2001. The BCCI only took women’s cricket under its wings in 2006, but it’s taken the administrative body nearly a decade to offer central contracts to these players. Before Manohar’s announcement, India was the only major cricketing nation not to have a defined pay structure for women.
Sudha Shah, another former cricketer, recalls how money was hard to come by during her playing days. “The money in women’s cricket was negligible, so we had to spend a lot of our own money to keep playing," she said. "Hopefully that will be a thing of the past now. Many players came from humble backgrounds. Sheer passion for the game kept them going.”
Sunita Sharma, a Dronacharya award winner and one of the few women coaches, feels central contracts are only the first step. “There is so much more the BCCI should do," she said. "They should have a dedicated office in the organisation for women’s cricket. Often, there is no transparency about match fees and a lot of fudging happens. The BCCI should grow the game more, especially at the school level.”
Past pitfalls
When the Women's Cricket Association of India merged with the BCCI in 2006, women cricketers had hoped the move would result in some positive changes. Unfortunately, it proved to a disappointment. Between 2006 and 2014, the Indian women’s team did not play a single Test match. In addition, the team fared poorly in other formats of the game. In 2014, when they finally played a Test match, the Indian team pulled off something quite spectacular – beating England in England. Most of the players were making their Test debuts.
Shilu Ranganathan, one of the first administrators of the women’s game in India, cited the 2013 Women’s World Cup as an example of the BCCI’s apathy. “The last World Cup [in 2013] was held only in Mumbai," she said. "The 1997 World Cup, which was organised by the Women’s Cricket Association of India, was staged all over India.” Ranganathan compared the BCCI’s attitude to women’s cricket to “swallowing a bitter pill”.
But putting aside the past, there is reason to believe that the upper echelons of the current BCCI administration have the best interests of women’s cricket at heart. Sharma and Shah were hopeful that given Manohar's credentials as an able administrator, he would do more to improve the women’s game.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has shown interest in the women’s game at the state level. Under Thakur’s presidency, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association introduced India’s first residential academy for women players. With Manohar and Thakur at the helm, it is hoped that the BCCI will allocate a portion of its vast riches to benefit women’s cricket.