The Smriti Mandhana Story- After the BCCI announced the latest contract renewals of the players (both male and female), a section of the Indian cricket fans were really unhappy with what had happened. The issue of equal pay for both genders has always been a prominent one. The fans have had mixed opinions on the topic as well. Even some of the Pundits and current cricketers have spoken in favour and against this topic too.
With that being said, Smriti Mandhana had commented on this issue some time ago. She said that she understood why the women were not being paid as much as the men. With Twitter exploding recently on the topic, many fans quoted her comments yet again. This drew a lot of attention towards her and the debate.
What Had Smriti Mandhana Previously Said About The Topic Of Equal Pay For Both Genders?
Indian opener Smriti Mandhana had committed on the whole issue some time ago. She had claimed that it would be “unfair” for the women’s team to ask for equal pay. The skipper of the Indian cricket men’s team, Virat Kohli and the rest of his teammates bring in a lion’s share of the revenue.
At that point in time, the reigning ICC’s woman cricketer of the year had touched on a few key points. Mandhana made this claim at the unveiling of Bata’s new range of shoes in Mumbai. She was okay with the money that both genders were making, unlike some of the fanbases.
“We need to understand that the revenue we get is through men’s cricket. The day women’s cricket starts earning revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. Right now, we can not say that.”
The Difference In The Payment Structure That Had Raised Concerns Amongst The Fanbases
The main problem that some of the fans had was that the male cricketers in the top bracket on BCCI’s central contracts earn a salary of Rs 7 crore. On the other hand, a female cricketer in this similar category gets Rs 50 lakh for the same period. The difference was rather huge.
Yet, the ICC player of the year had this to say, “I do not think any of my teammates are thinking about this [pay] gap because the only focus right now is to win matches for India. We need to get the crowd coming in and earn revenues. That what we are aiming for. If that happens, everything else will fall in place.”
“For that, we need to perform. It is unfair on our part to say that we need to be paid as much as the men. It is not right. So, I do not think I want to comment on that gap.”
Well, the BCCI is the governing body of cricket in India. Similarly, other governing bodies across the world are trying to push women’s cricket. However, the fact of the matter is that, though a slight raise in pay could be a genuine ask, the demand to have equal pay is rather impossible. There could be endless debates on this topic in the near future and we love the fans opinions for sure. Cheers!!
