Salary Of Women's Cricketers In India 2026: Match Fees, BCCI Contracts And Domestic Pay

Published: March 16, 2023, 4:25 PM IST | Updated: October 3, 2026, 1:43 PM IST
Written by Akash Saha | Edited and fact-checked by Amit Saha | Editorial policy

How much do Indian women cricketers earn? India’s women cricketers are paid the same international match fees as the men: Rs 15 lakh per Test, Rs 6 lakh per ODI and Rs 3 lakh per T20I. Centrally contracted players also get an annual BCCI retainer of Rs 50 lakh (Grade A), Rs 30 lakh (Grade B) or Rs 10 lakh (Grade C). In domestic cricket, senior women now earn Rs 50,000 per day in one-day and multi-day matches after a pay hike in December 2025.

International Match Fees for India Women

On October 27, 2022, the BCCI announced a pay equity policy that gives contracted women cricketers the same match fees as India’s men.

Format	Match fee per game
Test	Rs 15 lakh
ODI	Rs 6 lakh
T20I	Rs 3 lakh

BCCI Women’s Central Contracts 2025-26

The BCCI’s women’s retainers for 2025-26 cover October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 and were announced in February 2026. Jemimah Rodrigues was promoted to Grade A after her key role in India’s first Women’s ODI World Cup title, while Shreyanka Patil and Pooja Vastrakar missed out after injury-hit seasons.

Grade	Annual retainer	Players
A	Rs 50 lakh	Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues
B	Rs 30 lakh	Renuka Singh Thakur, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana
C	Rs 10 lakh	Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, G Kamalini, Vaishnavi Sharma, Tejal Hasabnis
B or C (reports differ)	–	Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Pratika Rawal, Kranti Goud, Uma Chetry

Published reports disagree on whether six players were placed in Grade B or Grade C, so they are listed separately.

For comparison with the men’s list, see our report on BCCI central contracts.

Salary of Women’s Domestic Cricketers

In December 2025, weeks after India won their first Women’s ODI World Cup, the BCCI more than doubled match fees for women’s domestic cricket. Previously, players in the XI earned Rs 20,000 per day and reserves Rs 10,000.

Category	Playing XI	Reserves
Senior one-day and multi-day (per day)	Rs 50,000	Rs 25,000
Senior T20 (per match day)	Rs 25,000	Rs 12,500
Under-23 and Under-19 (per day)	Rs 25,000	Rs 12,500

According to reports at the time, a leading domestic player who features regularly across formats can now earn around Rs 12 lakh to Rs 14 lakh in a full season. For a comparison with men’s domestic pay, see our guide to Ranji Trophy player salary and match fees.

How Women’s Cricket Pay Has Grown

India played their first women’s Test in 1976 and for years the women’s game drew little coverage or money. Mithali Raj‘s record double century against England in 2002 went largely unseen. The 2022 pay equity decision, the arrival of the Women’s Premier League and the December 2025 domestic hike have changed that, making cricket a full-time career for far more women players. Follow the latest in our cricket section.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the match fee of Indian women cricketers?

Since October 2022, Indian women cricketers get the same match fees as men: Rs 15 lakh per Test, Rs 6 lakh per ODI and Rs 3 lakh per T20I.

How much is the BCCI central contract for women cricketers?

Grade A players get Rs 50 lakh a year, Grade B Rs 30 lakh and Grade C Rs 10 lakh. In 2025-26, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues are in Grade A.

How much do women domestic cricketers earn in India?

Since December 2025, senior women domestic players earn Rs 50,000 per day in one-day and multi-day matches (reserves Rs 25,000) and Rs 25,000 per T20 match day (reserves Rs 12,500).