By Snehal Pradhan
With the BCCI’s announcement after its AGM that central contracts would be introduced for the Indian women’s cricket team, a collective exhalation could be heard from those who were holding their breath for the last few months. Ever since the BCCI announced their intention to bring in professionalism to the women’s game too, there had been unbridled excitement, loud scepticism and a quiet optimism that women’s cricket would see better days.
As it stands, credit must be given to the current BCCI administration for walking the talk. By introducing graded central contracts, they have shown as concrete their intention to develop women’s cricket and accord the players the respect they have worked for.
As per the BCCI announcement, 11 players have been contracted to start with. The four players who find themselves in grade A will earn Rs 15 lakh per year, while the remaining seven in grade B will be paid Rs 10 lakh a year.
For these women, the contracts come as an assurance of financial security. Currently, most female players are dependent on jobs with the Railways, which is almost the only viable recruiter for them. In fact, ten of the 15 players in India’s most recent ODI squad are employed with Railways. But their job means that official duties take up a certain amount of the athlete’s time; a BCCI contract would allow them the financial freedom to train full-time as professionals.
Having said that, contracted players Wisden India approached said they did not intend to quit their Railways job. Thirushkamini, named among the grade A players, pointed to flexible work times, supportive bosses and the significant off-season in women’s cricket as guiding her decision.
More than anything, said Veda Krishnamurty, who is in grade B, the contracts served as a “big confidence boost”. “To know I am ranked there among those other names is a good feeling … I have to perform up to that level.”
But were contracts necessary as a motivating factor in the first place? Certainly not. Female cricketers were playing for little more than the love of the game until the early 2000s. Contracts became vital as India Women were lagging behind.
England were the first to introduce a contract-like system in 2008, by appointing some players as ambassadors in the now hugely successful ‘Chance To Shine’ programme. Australia followed suit, linking their national team contracts to ambassadorial roles in their Females in Cricket strategy. Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand also joined the contract bandwagon –offering different levels of financial assistance, some more substantial than others – which meant that India were the only major side left out.
India’s turn towards professionalism has come at a vital time. In the last four years, India have conceded series losses, some on home soil, to Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies. From being a top four team, India have slipped to the bottom half of the pecking order in the ICC Women’s Championship, despite having no shortage of talent. With the central contracts in place, the core members of the Indian squad can now afford to train as professionals, like many of their opposing numbers already do.
Besides, by stipulating that those players who play at least three international games will be included in grade B, the BCCI have created an environment of healthy competition among players in the fringes and left the door open for deserving candidates to join the club.
Most other national teams were handed contracts on the back of consistent improvements in international performances. While England Women became fully professional after retaining the Ashes in Australia, the Southern Stars received a huge pay hike after their hat-trick of World T20 titles. India Women, meanwhile, have blown hot and cold over the last year and a half, putting in some good performances in Tests, but struggling in the shorter formats. While MD Thirushkamini insisted the contracts would not put undue pressure on the players, it is inevitable that with professionalism comes the expectation of results.
What the BCCI’s long-term plans for the women’s sport are remain to be seen. For instance, contracts, particularly with the English and Australian women’s teams, were a natural progression of the increase of the standard of cricket in the domestic and national sides, which led to more revenue through better viewership and more sponsors. The more money the boards invested developing their national and domestic women’s set-ups, the better the performances, and the more money women’s cricket attracted. The goal of the boards involved was to grow women’s cricket from a game that needed financial assistance to one that could “stand on its own two feet commercially through ticket sales and attracting commercial partners”, according to Clare Connor, the revolutionary head of women’s cricket at the ECB.
There are a few more financial consolidations that the BCCI could make to crystallise the initiative they have taken to make cricket a more inviting career option for young women. The BCCI have implemented the proposals in their annual report to raise match fees, which is now up to Rs 3500 this year from Rs 2500 for a one-day game, but this could use a further increase. While contracts benefit only the 11 players, an increase in match fees will benefit the hundreds who play in the domestic circuit. This will also help bridge the gap between the standards of cricket in domestic and international cricket.
Within the Indian set-up, the BCCI would do well to introduce higher match fees for those in the playing XI, as opposed to the current system of equal payment for all squad members. Now, even a player who plays one match in a series gets paid the same tour fees as someone who has played all matches in all formats. Changing this will only increase fairness in selection, competition within the team for places, and accountability.
The game of catch-up now begins. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, the awarding of contracts is a trifle for an organisation with pockets as deep as the BCCI’s. Will the women’s team be awarded a long-term vision of progress, and the people and commitment required to achieve it? The new BCCI administration must take the famous riddle of the sphinx one step further. They must take women’s cricket from being a creature that walks on three legs in the evening, to two the next dawn.