How One Cricket Board Quietly Rewrote the Rules on Player Pay

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-08-30

The Mumbai Cricket Association just did something no other state cricket body in India has done before. They've introduced equal annual retainers for their men's and women's players. It's a huge shift, honestly. For years, domestic boards have structured payments along gender lines, but this move signals a change in thinking. Think of it as leveling the playing field, literally. The move marks a significant shift in how player payments are handled at the domestic level, and it could set a precedent for others to follow. ### The Details of the New Contract System The MCA awarded contracts to 22 players total—that's 14 men and 8 women. These retainers are specifically for cricketers who aren't centrally contracted by the BCCI and don't fall under any other national program. They split everyone into three simple grades. - **Grade A players** will receive about $14,400 a year. - **Grade B contracts** come with about $9,600. - **Grade C** sits at about $7,200 annually. Now here's the key part: every player in a given grade earns the exact same base amount, regardless of gender. On top of that, they'll all collect match fees, daily allowances, and performance-based incentives. So the base is equal, and the opportunity to earn more is there for everyone. ### A Long Time Coming This decision didn't come out of nowhere. It's been over seven years since Sourav Ganguly first flagged pay parity as a priority during his time as BCCI president. The plan kind of stalled at the national level, though. It just sat there, unrealized, until Mumbai's state association decided to pick it up and run with it on their own. Sometimes change starts locally, right? Let's look at who made the cut. Batter Siddhesh Lad and spin-bowling allrounder Shams Mulani lead the men's list in Grade A. On the women's side, Humaira Kazi and Vrushali Bhagat hold the two Grade A spots. The gap in squad sizes—14 men versus 8 women—really just reflects the current depth of contracted players at each level. But the pay bands? Those are identical. > This isn't just about fairness for today's players. It's about signaling to every young girl picking up a bat that her game has value. ### More Than Just Paychecks Alongside the new retainers, the MCA launched a scholarship fund named after Ajinkya Rahane, honoring his contribution after his retirement earlier this year. Former MCA president Sharad Pawar has already chipped in. The association says the fund will support grassroots cricketers in the city, which shows this is part of a broader investment in the sport's future. This isn't the MCA's first swing at reworking player compensation either. During the 2024-25 season, they doubled pay for the senior men's team. Players were suddenly earning twice as much across a domestic season. So they've been building toward this. ### The Bigger Picture in Domestic Cricket The broader push to properly reward domestic cricket has been picking up steam. Several former players have been vocal, asking boards to prioritize the format. This got a boost after the BCCI rolled out a Test incentive scheme for centrally contracted men. Under that, a player's match fees can jump by 300% if he plays in most of the season's Tests. The MCA's latest move fits right into that trend. Domestic boards are finally trying to make non-IPL cricket financially viable for their players. It's about sustainability. If you want talent to develop and stick with the longer formats, the financial incentive has to be there. This equal pay structure is a bold step in that direction, showing that value isn't determined by gender, but by grade and performance. It makes you wonder who might be next to follow their lead.