Reports | India women to be given WT20 prize money this week

The administrators of women’s cricket in India have found it impossible to dodge controversy and a major exposé from Telegraph Sport, on Sunday, once again showed the incompetence of those running the sport in the country. The Telegraph reported that the BCCI were yet to pay the players the prize money they were owed ($500,000) for reaching the final of the WT20 last year and the revelation has since left the cricketing fraternity shocked. Several former cricketers have condemned the actions of the board and there has been a unanimous call for the need for a Player’s Association in the country. 

The World T20 final was played on March 8 and the BCCI have delayed payments for more than a year, but the said official has defended the board’s actions, claiming that they received the payment from the ICC very late. 

Meanwhile, according to a former BCCI office-bearer, the delay has nothing to do with gender. The source insisted that all payments have been delayed due to the turmoil caused by the pandemic, and asserted that, generally, there is always a delay that is unavoidable.

"It's not just one payment for women. Whether it's the central contract of the men's team, international match fees, domestic fees of men and women, everything is taking a bit of time because of the prevailing situation," a former BCCI office-bearer, still associated with a state unit, said.

"So, in this case you need to check when did BCCI receive the payments. If they received just after the tournament, then it's a delay but processing does take some time. And to the best of my knowledge, it's the same for both men and women."