'I am proud of BCCI' - Farokh Engineer lauds Indian cricketing board for bringing pay equity for centrally contracted players

October 27, 2022 - a day that will be remembered for ages to come. And why not? It was a historic day for Indian cricket as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a major initiative, a step towards eradicating gender discrimination, and announced equal match fees for all the centrally contracted male and female cricketers.

The entire cricketing fraternity lauded BCCI’s move, and current and former cricketers, both male and female, appreciated the initiative. Legends of the game like Mithali Raj, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli among many others took to their respective social media handles to praise BCCI. And India’s former wicketkeeper-batter Farokh Engineer was the recent one to join the bandwagon.

While speaking on BatBricks7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, Engineer heaped praises on the Indian cricketing board as he said:

“I am proud of BCCI. I’m really proud that they have taken the initiative. You know, women’s cricket is getting a lot of importance, a lot of coverage, and I for one, personally, I’m absolutely delighted that women are getting paid just as much as men. I think other sports, like tennis, golf, and all, will realize that women are not inferior.”

It’s lovely for BCCI to take the initiative: Engineer

As Engineer believes, it is true that the men’s game has attracted more audience because of the rigorous nature of their play, which is not usually found in the women’s game. But the female players, of all sports, have given their best to stand at an equal stage and have given tough competition to the men’s sports.

“Okay, the men’s game attracts bigger audiences, bigger television viewers, and all that so you can understand why the men’s wages are a bit higher. But I think it’s lovely for BCCI to take the initiative and be the first one to have equal pay for the centrally contracted players. Shabash BCCI, I salute you for that,” Engineer added.

The Indian women’s team showcased some outstanding performances this year. They bagged a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, where women’s cricket was introduced for the first time in history. Later, they clinched their seventh Women’s Asia Cup 2022 title, by defeating Sri Lanka in the finals.