Teenage sensation Shafali Verma bats for higher pay for women's team; states they need more support

Indian women’s cricket team’s teenage sensation Shafali Verma has weighed in on the pay parity debate by stating that the women’s team should be offered more support.

Currently, the highest-earning female cricketers in the country are Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, who are on the A-List of BCCI’s central contracts and rake in $71,500 each.

In comparison, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma, the men on BCCI’s A-list of central contracts, earn an astoundingly higher $1 million each.

Hosts of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup Australia are paid as much as their male counterparts, which would surely pinch some members of the travelling Indian contingent.

Naturally then, teenage sensation admitted that there exists a huge gap in pay between the men’s and women’s cricket team at the moment, before adding that things might improve gradually if the women’s team can keep improving their performances on the pitch.

“There is definitely a big gap,” Verma told AFP.

“The men get so much support and us, after doing so well, we should be supported more. But it again it boils down to playing well. If we play better, then we will slowly but surely get recognition, as does men’s cricket,” she added.

Earlier, Mandhana had commented on the pay parity issue, stating that she understands that all the revenue is currently being generated by the men’s team and hence doesn’t have an immediate issue with the existing pay gap between the men’s and women’s team.