The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made a historic decision that brings equality in prize money for men and women in the T20 World Cup. This change will come into effect with the Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to take place in the UAE next month. For the first time, women cricketers will receive the same prize money as men in the tournament.
Huge Increase in Prize Money for Women’s T20 World Cup
The total prize money for the Women’s T20 World Cup has been increased to 7.95 million USD (around ₹66.70 crores). This is a significant rise of 225% from last year’s amount. In 2022, the total prize pool was only 2.45 million USD. With this boost, the team that wins the Women’s T20 World Cup will now take home 2.34 million USD, which is 134% more than what Australia received for winning last year’s tournament.
Cricket Leads in Gender Equality
With this decision, cricket has become the first major sport to offer equal prize money for both men’s and women’s teams in the World Cup. The runner-up team in the Women’s T20 World Cup will now get 1.17 million USD, while the teams that lose in the semi-finals will be awarded 675,000 USD each.
India’s Journey in the Upcoming T20 World Cup
The Indian women’s cricket team is all set to compete in the T20 World Cup starting October 3rd. India will begin their campaign against New Zealand on October 4th. Their highly anticipated match against Pakistan is scheduled for October 6th. They will face Sri Lanka on October 9th, and their final group-stage match will be against Australia on October 13th.
This move by the ICC has been applauded globally as a step forward in promoting gender equality in sports.
