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[caption id="attachment_41849" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Diana Edulji among direct beneficiary of ex-gratia payment for women cricketers .Image Source: newstopin.com[/caption] Internet Desk: Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) member and former India skipper Diana Edulji will be a direct beneficiary of the one-time ex-gratia payment introduced in 2017 for the country’s women cricketers. Former women cricketers who have represented India have received an ex-gratia payment between Rs 15 to Rs 25 lakh based on the number of international matches played. Edulji had played 20 Tests and 24 ODIs, is entitled to get benefits and she has received this after becoming a member of the COA. Edulji had recued herself from the COA meeting where monetary benefits for women cricketers were discussed. "It was minuted in the COA meeting that Diana Edulji had recused herself from discussions on women's cricket specifically to avoid the Conflict of Interest issue," a BCCI official privy to the development came to Edulji's defence. But there are voices of dissent in the BCCI for the manner in which the amount of ex-gratia benefit was fixed and how it was passed without placing it before the general body of the BCCI. "Obviously, she [Edulji] should get benefit but she was a member of the committee that took a policy decision," another BCCI official said. "It was minuted in the COA meeting that Diana Edulji had recused herself from discussions on women's cricket specifically to avoid the Conflict of Interest issue," a BCCI official privy to the development came to Edulji's defence. But there are voices of dissent in the BCCI for the manner in which the amount of ex-gratia benefit was fixed and how it was passed without placing it before the general body of the BCCI. "Obviously, she [Edulji] should get benefit but she was a member of the committee that took a policy decision," another BCCI official said. Most of the former women players, who are getting one- time benefit played international cricket under the aegis of Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI). It was later merged with the BCCI. As recently as in 2016, the BCCI brought the current women stars under their Central Contract scheme. Players like Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana were given permission to play the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia -- a first by the world's richest cricket board. With inputs from PTI.