India's women cricketers will in future be paid the same match fee as men in a move to counter discrimination, the country's cricket board said Thursday.

"I'm pleased to announce @BCCI's first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted @BCCIWomen cricketers," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

"The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Cricket," Shah said.

The announcement came ahead of the reported debut next year of a women's version of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament.

It is tentatively set for March to fit between the next T20 Women's World Cup in South Africa and the start of the next men's IPL season, media reports said earlier this month.