Finally, a fair play: BCCI announces equal pay to women cricketers as the men in blue

New Delhi, Oct 27: In a big announcement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced an equal match fee for both men's and women's cricketers of India.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Thursday took to his official Twitter handle to announce the historical development. "I'm pleased to announce BCCI's first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing a pay equity policy for our contracted women 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 said.

The BCCI secretary Shah also highlighted the new fees for the contracted players and stressed that the Indian Women's cricket team will earn the same match fees as their male counterparts. "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. Jai Hind," he added in another tweet.

The women's cricket team recently emerged victorious at the Asia Cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the final played in Bangladesh. Earlier, the Women in Blue bagged India's first-ever medal in cricket at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as it won silver.

Ever since India's performance in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup in England, where they lost to the hosts in the final, the popularity of women's cricket has seen an unprecedented rise in the country.