India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes the women's central contracts will soon see significant changes, with the pay gap between male and female cricketers expected to narrow following her side's first-ever Women's ODI World Cup title earlier this month.

The skipper, who led India to a landmark win in Navi Mumbai on November 2, said the disparity in pay never troubled her because it has always been shaped by what she calls“market forces.” Still, she feels the team's recent success has altered that equation.

“Momentum for Change Has Begun”

Currently, India's top male cricketers earn ₹7 crore under the BCCI's annual central contracts, while female players take home ₹50 lakh. Harmanpreet believes those figures could look very different in the near future.

“It will change now - that's what I feel,” Harmanpreet told PTI.“A lot of changes came after 2017 when we reached the final. Before that, our contract was just ₹15 lakh. After the 2017 World Cup, it went up to ₹50 lakh. Now that we've won the trophy, financial improvement will naturally follow.”

While acknowledging that men's cricket still drives most of the sport's revenue, Harmanpreet said the victory has shifted perceptions.“Before this, all the revenue was coming through men's cricket. We were lucky that BCCI supported women's cricket during the years it needed help the most. But now the value of women's cricket has changed dramatically,” she added.

“Performance Drives Market Value”

Harmanpreet echoed teammate Smriti Mandhana's long-held view - that pay scales reflect market performance - but said India's achievements are starting to alter that dynamic.

“We always knew we had to contribute on the field first,” she said.“Once we did that, we could start talking about equal pay and equal recognition. The men's team earned their value by winning consistently; now it's our turn to do the same.”

She noted that the team's World Cup victory has already enhanced the commercial appeal of women's cricket in India.“After November 2, the market value of women's cricket has gone up because of the trophy. Without winning, we'd still be stuck where we were,” Harmanpreet said.“If we want the same recognition, we need to match the men's record of winning major tournaments - then the market will catch up automatically.”

Support From Jay Shah and BCCI

The Indian captain also credited BCCI Secretary and ICC Chairman Jay Shah for his continued backing of women's cricket, describing him as a driving force behind key reforms.

“Jay Shah has been our biggest supporter,” she said.“He introduced pay parity in match fees and made the Women's Premier League possible. Even before we won any ICC trophy, he believed in us and gave us what we needed.”

Harmanpreet said the team's World Cup success felt like a fitting reward for Shah's investment in the women's game.“He couldn't express much on the ground when we won - he just said, 'I am very happy,' and that was enough for us. We really wanted to do it for him,” she added.

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