The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : BCCI's bounty to women cricketers

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Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006

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BCCI's bounty to women cricketers

Special Correspondent

Mumbai: Mithali Raj's Indian team ought to be a happy bunch. Each player and official of the 18-member Indian women's cricket team has been given Traveller's Cheques and currency worth 1,100 pounds ($2,000) for their 40-day tour of England and Ireland. Henceforth the Indian women's team's official travel blazer and clothing will display the BCCI's crest.

Thanks to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar's initiative, each player of the women's team has been sanctioned a daily allowance of $50 per day. This is on par with what Rahul Dravid's team has been receiving for all their tours abroad.

"The president decided that there ought not to be any discrimination'' said a BCCI official. Recently, the BCCI set a time frame of one year for women cricketers to organise themselves in their respective States and integrate with the member units of the BCCI and also decided to extend full support for the Indian women's cricket team.

To start with, the BCCI has spent on the travel cost and other expenses related to the tour and also pay them a handsome daily allowance. The host countries would look after the team's lodge and boarding.

The BCCI would be spending around Rs. 25 lakhs for the women's team's tour to England and Ireland. The BCCI's contract with Sahara Group for junior cricket and India `A' team is Rs. 25 lakhs per match for televised matches and Rs. 15 lakhs for non-televised matches,'' said the BCCI official.

According to the BCCI official the Indian team's kit sponsor, Nike, is willing to support the women's team, but the WCAI has a contract with Sahara running till December 2007.

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