In recent times, women’s cricket has witnessed exponential all-around growth. The rise in awareness and the support received has led to many historic, and game-changing decisions being taken by the respective board authorities from multiple countries.
One of the landmark decisions being the announcement of pay parity for men’s and women’s cricketers by various boards namely, NZC (New Zealand), BCCI (India), CSA (South Africa), CWI (Cricket West Indies), etc. The intent behind the decision was to bridge the payment gap between the genders involved in the sport.
In this article, we will have a look at the evolution of prize money for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup over the years (Since 2016).
Prize Money Breakdown for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup [Since 2016]
2016 (Hosts: India):- [Prize Money: US $4000,000]
The 2016 edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was hosted by India. The Mithali Raj-led side had a tournament to forget on their home turf as they were knocked out of the league stages. A solitary victory in their campaign came against Bangladesh.
The West Indies Women’s team led by skipper Stafanie Taylor was crowned as the champions of the 2016 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup as they defeated Australia led by skipper Meg Lanning in the final by eight wickets. The winners of the tournament were awarded a prize money of US $4000,000.
2018 (Hosts: West Indies):- [Prize Money: US $750,000]
The hosts West Indies led by skipper Stafanie Taylor had an exceptional campaign as they stayed unbeaten throughout the league stages of the tournament. However, they were eventually knocked out in the 1st semi-final. The Australian women’s team led by skipper Meg Lanning were crowned as the champions of the tournament as they defeated England in the final by eight wickets. The Meg Lanning-led side was rewarded with a prize money of $750,000 for bagging the silverware.
2020 (Hosts: Australia):- [Prize Money: US $1,000,000]
The winners of the previous edition (2018), Australia led by skipper Meg Lanning, successfully defended their T20 World Cup title at home in the year 2020. They managed to triumph over the Indian women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in the final by a comprehensive 85-run margin to bag their 2nd successive Women’s T20 World Cup title. The home side on this occasion was awarded with a prize money of US $1,000,000 on being crowned as the champions of the tournament.
2023 (Hosts:- South Africa)[Prize Money: US $1,000,000]
The hosts, South Africa led by skipper Sune Luus had a sensational, their best-ever campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup till date. They finished as the runners-up of the tournament, becoming the first-ever Proteas team (men’s or women’s) to make their maiden appearance in an ICC tournament in cricket.
The Australian women’s team led by skipper Meg Lanning were eventually crowned as the champions of the tournament, claiming a hat-trick of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup titles (2018, 2020, and 2023). Hosts, South Africa fell agonisingly short of scripting another piece of history, ending up on the losing side by 19 runs while chasing a 157-run target in the final against Australia.
The Meg Lanning-led side was awarded with a prize money of US $1,000,000 for adding another silverware to their trophy cabinet.
2024 (Hosts:- Bangladesh)[Prize Money: ?]
The ICC have recently announced the highest-ever prize money (at least US $2.45 Million) for the winners, while the runners-up will get at least US $1.28 Million in the ongoing edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies from 2nd June 2024 to 29th June 2024.
The upcoming edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is all set to be hosted by Bangladesh. The tournament will commence on 3rd October 2024 and will conclude on 20th October 2024. However, the ICC is yet to make an official announcement about the prize money for the winners and the runners-up of the tournament.