Zaheer Khan feels women cricketers must also be paid highly by the BCCI

New Delhi: When the BCCI rolled out the 2018 Annual Player Contracts, it was noted that the gap between the amounts offered to men's and women's was a huge one. While the men were paid in crores across all grades, women, however, took home 50 lakhs, 30 lakhs and 10 lakhs. 

When former India pacer Zaheer Khan was enquired on the issue highlighting the huge divide, he said, "There is a process in place and accordingly salaries are decided. Earlier, women cricketers weren't associated with the BCCI but they have come under its fold now. We really hope that the women too get hiked salaries since they have been playing much more frequently. If the need arises, senior players like us will also put in a request to the board to hike the contracts of  women cricketers."

India skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the Grade A+ contracts and will be paid Rs 7cr as annual salary. The ones who were slotted in Grade A like MS Dhoni will get Rs 5 cr, Rs 3 cr to Grade B players and 1cr to Grade C cricketers.