Women's Team: You Have Made Us Proud

All great sporting nations have their stories of success which are often built on the foundations of a historic moment of accomplishment. When Kapil Dev lifted the Cricket World Cup in 1983, the entire world stood in awe and respect, as Indians were the underdogs going into the tournament and hardly anyone would have placed their bets on them. However, we achieved the phenomenal and this wonder at The Lord’s paved the way for what was going to be a significant turnaround for the Indian Cricket.

When Mithali Raj and girls walked out to the same historic Lord’s Cricket Ground for the Women’s World Cup final against England, the whole nation prayed for the same magic which Kapil and his boys had created at the Lord’s 34 years back. Unfortunately, we just missed out here and England lifted the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time beating India by 9 runs.

In spite of the heartbreak in the final, we are very proud of what our team has achieved in this tournament. It was not long back in February when the team had to play a qualification tournament to secure a berth in the World Cup. Who would have imagined that in a little more than 5 months time the same team would march their way to the Final and would actually come so close to winning it. This spellbinding turnaround has been a result of their mighty spirit and the sustained efforts put in by Mithali Raj and her brigade.

However, there is much more than the just the cricketing aspect, as I see it. We are well aware of the apathy that our athletes often face due to dearth of resources and lack of encouragement. The situation gets all the more perplexing and disconcerting when it comes to the development of women’s sports in India. Sadly, ours is a country where girls are sometimes killed even before coming in this world. Girls who are courageous enough to take up a sport often have to battle stereotypes, much before battling it out on the field, and perhaps even after that.

The girls who have represented our country in this world cup and in fact all the female cricketers who have donned the Indian jersey have put in their hearts and souls into the game all these years without getting the limelight and the incentives they deserve. I would not go into the depth of disparity of match fees and sponsorships between male and female cricketers, but it is certainly huge. But more than the financial aspect I guess what has pinched Indian women’s cricket all these years is the lack of people’s interest in a highly cricket loving nation.

 This squad consists of girls from varied regions and backgrounds who have shown exemplary character and dedication to be able to follow their passion and stay focused to their goals. Some might have also gone against their families, while some had to face the cynicism and resentment which female athletes often face in our society. Further saddening was the lack of administrative backing, politics in cricket at every level and lack of coverage. I am not sure how many of us even knew the name of these players before the tournament began. This is unfortunate, but is true.

The same team which we preferred to ignore all the time has given us enough reasons to cheer and rejoice. It was just fantastic to see our Prime Minister sending out a series of tweets before the finals with a tweet for each member of the team. Never have I seen prayers and havans for a Women’s match before. And who can forget superstar Akshay Kumar who went all the way to London to cheer for the Women in Blue. All this frenzy and excitement is pretty amazing, but all this has come after they have reached the finals. This brings me to our pertinent tendency of going crazy over the success of our athletes, but hardly caring for them during their times of struggles.

Thankfully, we have found some brilliant young talent in this World Cup and now we also are giving them the attention they have long deserved. Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut have been fantastic with the bat. The innings which Harmanpreet Kaur played against Australia would go down as one of the greatest ever. Our bowling has looked lethal with Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad taking the charge. Also, it is the time to salute the legends of the game- Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami who have given it all to the country.

This World Cup should not be taken as a one-of achievement, but should rather be identified as a stepping stone for the better future of Indian Women’s cricket. The BCCI now need to take this forward by supporting the players in every way possible. They should work on building a larger pool of players and also providing a better organization and framework to Women’s Cricket at the Domestic level. One major reason for the diminished popularity of Women’s Cricket is that the number of matches that our team plays at the International Level against quality sides is very less. More bilateral series, particularly those held on Indian grounds would help augment the reach and affection for the game.  

Women’s world Cup 2017 has probably been able to ignite the same spark for Women’s cricket which the 1983 World Cup did for Cricket in India. Mens cricket has come a long way since. We strongly believe that our women are no less. They have shown the integrity and skills which are required at the international level, and have exceeded our expectations with their hard work and conviction. It is just about right direction and the support which we need to give to our girls.

We want the Women in Blue to give us many many more reasons to celebrate, and unlike the previous times we are standing right by their side now. The Indian Women are arriving, wait for their conquests……