A significant decision for women cricketers from Madhya Pradesh has been made by the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA). The association announced a monthly financial support scheme for cricketers who are not eligible to receive benefits from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pension system.
The decision was made during a meeting of the MPCA managing committee on Monday. The scheme will be implemented from April 1.
Under this scheme, women cricketers who have played international matches will be paid INR 12,500 per month. Domestic players will receive amounts ranging from INR 6,000 to INR 10,000 depending on their playing record and categories.
All women cricketers who have played for Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI), BCCI or both will be included in this scheme. Records of the old days were not well-maintained, so interested cricketers need to apply for receiving the monthly sum.
Senior players will also receive some special benefit: all those, above the age of 75 years, will be granted an extra INR 7,500 per month on top of the money received by the concerned category player.
Payment Structure & Other Decisions
Here's a category-wise payment structure announced by MPCA:
| Category | Matches | Monthly Amount (INR) |
| International (Test & ODI) | - | 12,500 |
| WCAI | 8-15 | 6,000 |
| WCAI | 16-20 | 7,500 |
| WCAI | 21+ | 10,000 |
| WCAI + BCCI | 15-20 | 6,000 |
| WCAI + BCCI | 21-25 | 7,500 |
| WCAI + BCCI | 25+ | 10,000 |
| BCCI | 20-25 | 6,000 |
| BCCI | 26-35 | 7,500 |
| BCCI | 35+ | 10,000 |
This step by the MPCA is also being seen in line with similar initiatives by other state boards, for example, the Karnataka State Cricket Association announced last month that it would pay INR 15,000 monthly to its women cricketers above 55 years of age who have played at the senior level in national games. States like Bengal, Gujarat, Baroda, and Vidarbha already had such schemes running.
Currently, a women cricketer playing for the country receive INR 52,500 per month from BCCI while retired players are entitled to between INR 45,000-70,000 based on the number of matches they played and when they retired.
MPCA has also decided to raise the pension for men cricketers and umpires, respectively. Retired men cricketers, not receiving BCCI pension, will now receive INR 7,000 (up to 4 matches), INR 10,000 (5-14 matches) and INR 12,500 (15-24 matches).
The retired Umpires will receive INR 10,000 if they have officiated at the BCCI level and INR 6,500 if they have officiated at the state level. An extra INR 7,500 is set aside for the aged beneficiaries above 75 years.
Match fees for umpires at inter-divisional games, scorers at each match and selectors of different levels have also been increased to INR 5,000, INR 2,500 and INR 9,000 respectively.
In a significant development Chandrakant Pandit was reappointed as the Director of Cricket of the MPCA for another two-year term, he joined the MPCA in 2020 and helped them achieve their first Ranji trophy title.
The association has also given approval for constructing the pavilion blocks at Morena and Narmadapuram grounds.