WT20: Dhoni, Kohli inspire Australia women vice-captain Alex Blackwell

The men Blackwell said she would look to learn from as a middle-order batswoman are Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.

On the issue of equal pay for men and women in sport, Alex Blackwell and Alex Morgan wouldn’t run well between wickets.

The men Alex Blackwell (L) said she would look to learn from as a middle-order batswoman are Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Blackwell is the vice-captain of the World No 1 team Australia, readying for a World T20 final at Eden Gardens on Sunday. And Morgan is a World Cup winner with the US women’s soccer team.

Along with Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the 2015 World Cup final, Becky Sauerbrunn and Megan Rapinoe, Morgan complained on Thursday about pay disparity to a USA government agency. The five women footballers have said they earn 40% of what the men get even though they have won three World Cups.

Blackwell, 32, said gender shouldn’t determine earnings but with a rider. “I do agree with equal pay but in the business of sport, it’s to do with how the money comes in…We can’t expect same sort of split (between men and women) currently. With time, the pay difference will be reduced. Maybe in five years, women’s cricket will be a standalone product.”

Being part of the World T20 since it was introduced for women in 2009, Blackwell said the focus should be more on creating equal conditions for men and women cricketers. “You don’t become a better cricketer overnight because you are paid a little more.”