Recognition for Indian women cricketers has come, more so after women’s cricket began to be handled by the BCCI. Still, a lot more needs to be done
Indian women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj's recent achievement of becoming the highest run-getter in women's One Day Cricket (ODI) is a milestone accomplishment. Raj scored a perfect 6,000 runs and superceded previous record holder Charlotte Edwards, who had scored 5,992 runs. She did so in an unshakable manner too — with an average of 51 runs in her 183 ODI matches. In comparison, Edwards' average was 38 runs, in 191 ODIs.
The success story is not limited to Raj. Another veteran player, Jhulan Goswami, is the highest wicket-taker in women's ODI history, with 181 wickets, bettering Australia's Cathryn Fitzpatrick's record of 180. Other hard-hitters include vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who is the strength of the Indian middle order; 19-year-old wonder Deepti Sharma, partnering with Poonam Raut, who had put up a stand of 320 runs against Ireland this year; and Smriti Mandhana, the left-handed opener who made her comeback in the World Cup after a long injury.
However, it is saddening that these successes have always had a limited impact. Commemoration arises only when women cricketers break the ceiling at the international level, only to be forgotten easily. Despite tremendous successes, the women in blue have not got their dues. Besides, whatever they have achieved have come after much challenges. One of the foremost barriers for them has been the patronising attitude that begins at the school-level-playgrounds which are predominantly governed by boys. At the school level nobody would have heard of a cricket or a football team for girls.
There are only two platforms available to step up their game. First is the under-19 level and second is the senior level equivalent to the Ranji Trophy. Though there is the recently introduced under-23 level, it is still not at par with the boys who have under-16, under 23 and sometimes the option of playing club cricket. Coming to basic facilities, fields allocated for learning purposes, especially at under-19 or State levels are usually situated at the far end of the city or town; the centrally situated ones are allotted to the boy's team. Such apathy encourages dispassion towards women players which is the primary reason why parents do not want their girls to develop over fondness for sports that has been men's forte.
At the crux of the matter, there is no sufficient room for them to hone their skills. The common belief that the fitness of women can hardly match that of the boys, is faulty too. Though the batting of the men's team is finer than its counterpart's, the women's bowling average has been consistently better in spite of their relative inconsistency overall compared to the boy's team. Women bowlers concede almost fewer runs for every ball than their male counterparts. Indian men bowlers have given roughly 30 more runs for every wicket they have taken, according to the ESPN Cricinfo.
Much of the problem is to do with the step-motherly treatment by media, as the big front page news tends to be the debate on the next possible coach of the men's team while most people in India do not even know the names of the Indian women cricket players. Things have taken an upturn since the merger of the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Indian women's cricket has come a long way since the WCAI era, when players had to pay to play, to now, when they get a daily allowance, match fee and travel-accommodation expenses.
Recently, the BCCI has named Harmanpreet Kaur for Arjuna award — a commemoration by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for superlative achievement in sports in India.To provide more recognition and opportunities to hone skills, the BCCI must aim to conduct more matches at the domestic level, maybe something similar to the Indian Premier league. India can take a cue from a consistent performer like Australia. The Australian women's team, apart from having the usual world tournaments, has some national and smaller play offs. The Big Bash league — the Aussie version of t20 tournament, somewhat like our Indian Premier league, is conducted for women. This kind of series brings lots of positive opportunities. These events, being the shorter version of the bigger ODIs or test matches, require less patience, thus is watched by a larger number of people.
It develops dependency towards the players as they become a household name while people get to know the intricate nuances of their technique by watching them every day. It also provides with a lot of options for replacement in the ODI team. As Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, both veteran players of age 34, who were in the 2005 World Cup team when India finished second, will eventually need to leave the team. Preparations for back-up are needed to replace two such stellar team members.
Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the likes of Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami in cricket and Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza in their respective fields of badminton and tennis have dared to display vigour. Mary Kom, the Olympic bronze medallist and six time World Champion boxer makes our hearts swell in pride as she is fondly called the ‘Magnificent Mary'. But these are independent instances where the players shone through their perseverance and moderate external support like parental encouragement and good coaching facilities. All these athletes come from humble backgrounds and faced more or less the same barrier of initial parental disapproval won over by their love and passion for their respective sports. It is to be seen whether India remains satisfied in leaving its women athletes in fate's hand where only a smidgen of the abundant talent gets recognition, or wants to pull up its socks and bring its women players to their full potential.
(The writer is trainee sub-editor, The Pioneer)