The reason why most of the girls who were crowned world champions are now the only girls on the cricket field was not always direct discrimination. Although this has also happened, as the boys decide among themselves that the girl will be the last one to hit, after all is said and done.
But there were other reasons too. Not all coaches may know how to coach girls. Some boys also worry that speed bowling will end up hurting the girl. So the punches are pulled.
The Maharashtra Women’s team was already in celebration mode on Sunday morning, as we won the first Women’s T20 Trophy, beating Madhya Pradesh by 12 runs in the final. Shafali Verma was playing this tournament when she was called up to replace Pratika Rawal in the World Cup semi-final.
I’ve played for India in the past, and I can talk a little bit about how important it is to win the World Cup, and not just for the 15 players in the squad. Women’s cricket has come a long way, but it needs a lot of things in place to keep achieving these results.
The Indian women’s team celebrates after winning the World Cup. (Quick photo | Narendra Vaskar)
When I started playing for Maharashtra 12-13 years ago, there were no inter-zonal matches. Now we regularly source talent not only from Pune, our main hub, but increasingly from Kolhapur, Nasik and Aurangabad where women want to play professionally. While the Sahara Cricket Club in Kolhapur was earlier producing Ranji players, women are now coming out of the same nurseries. We always had big dreams and told the girls that playing for India should be the goal.
But earlier, there were camps for only 2-3 days before any big tournament. This time, we had a two-month camp, focusing on fitness and fielding. Our Maharashtra team support team is also on the same lines as the Indian team – coach, physiotherapist, nutritionist and doctors, when needed. We have access to gyms and the association will arrange indoor training facilities in case of rain. It was a far cry from when we started – eating whatever was available, and not always having access to training nets. Now women’s cricket has become a priority for every serious state association.
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Changing times
Maharashtra has a women’s T20 league and the matches are shown live, so there is a chance of attracting attention. It was encouraging to know that the Maharashtra Cricket Association has matched the official prize money of Rs 40 lakh with a similar incentive amount. This was a day before India won the World Cup, so the support was constant.
A win for India could change the mindset towards women’s cricket in these parts. Many small villages will gain confidence that they too can win and represent the state and the country. We were also from smaller places – Smriti Mandhana is from Sangli, I am from Kolhapur. There were no facilities when we started in 2004-2005, and we were only able to make it happen because we had very supportive families. Looking back when I started playing professionally, we had to face a lot of people who weren’t exactly happy with us playing the sport.
I’ll be the only girl on the floor, playing among the boys. I remember being told clearly that cricket was not a career for girls, and this was in the groove. It was said as if the advice was for my own good, not because my playing made them uncomfortable.
But cricket was in my blood. My father, Kaka (paternal uncle) and Mama (maternal uncle) loved the sport and played for the local club team. We weren’t particularly well off, and equipment was out of reach. But my love for cricket was so great that all these seniors happily supported me. They told me to enjoy the game, and to play without any pressure.
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At that time there was no social media. I remember Smriti and I would go to watch Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Sulakshana Naik rehearse. We copied their training programs when we first entered the Indian team. In Maharashtra, Poonam Raut was considered a fitness freak. Now, everyone works hard to be fit. There are a million ideas that need to be implemented, but I’ll just say – now that the number of matches women are playing increases, we need to match that with improved fitness and nutrition. We need to be stronger, to win more.
As he told Shivani Naik
(Tags for translation)Anuja Patel
