When the BCCI took over the responsibility of women’s cricket in November 2014, the exposure of female cricketers to Test cricket was already very less. The truth is that the Indian women’s team has only got a chance to play three Test matches in these 15 years since then.
BCCI did not give any opportunity to women cricketers to play test cricket in the first seven years.
In 2014, of course, the Indian team got a chance to play two test matches and the Indian team won both these Tests against England. Indian women were kept away from Test cricket for the next six years despite producing good results. It seems that under pressure from the ICC, the BCCI was compelled to take women’s cricket into its own hands. Under the supervision of the Indian Women’s Cricket Association, Indian players got the opportunity to play eight Test matches in four years. That is a huge difference between the two.
The President of this association, Shakti Rani Sharma, said that Women’s cricket has not merged with BCCI. Because of this, she said, “The players are facing many problems even today. Even today we organise the age group tournaments at the state level, efforts are made to give maximum opportunities to the young girls in the academies, from where a lot of talent is incubated for the national level. Mithali Raj has shined at the national level only by getting ready from our tournaments.”
At the same time, it is also a fact that Indian women players get very less exposure to the game as compared to men. Where men are getting a package of Rupees seven crores in A plus category, there is no such category for women. Similarly, in category A, men are getting Rs 5 crore, women are getting only five lakhs, in B category men are getting Rs 3 crore while women are getting Rs 30 lakh, and finally in C category men are getting Rs 1 crore and women are getting Rs 10 lakh respectively. That amount of money given to women is ten times less than men are paid. Shakti Rani Sharma says that there is not only a wide pay gap but there is also a big difference in the facilities available to both.
It is also a fact that South Africa’s women’s team also played their last Test in 2014. The situation of the West Indies, New Zealand, and Pakistan teams is even worse.
Nevertheless, Indian women have played 909 matches since the inception of T20 cricket in 2004 and played a total of 731 ODIs.
The BCCI has given more attention to T20 cricket itself. Its big motive has been to add sponsors behind this. Rajkumar Sharma, who coached the Indian women’s team at the NCA, says a lot depends on the sponsors. He, however, hopes that in the coming times, the Indian women’s team will get to play many Test matches and for this BCCI will have to push women’s cricket.