The Women Who Rewrote Indian Cricket

(Excerpt from India Today)

“For decades, cricket in India had one face: men in blue. But somewhere, in the dusty gullies and quiet corners of small towns, young girls were learning to dream differently. With taped-up tennis balls, worn-out bats, and hearts full of fire, they began a journey that would one day shake the soul of a billion people.

It was the early 1970s when a handful of women, led by Mahendra Kumar Sharma and later Diana Edulji, dared to dream of forming a national team. There was no Board of Control for Women’s Cricket then, no funding, no proper facilities. Players stitched their own uniforms, travelled in unreserved train compartments, and often used borrowed equipment.”

In 1976, the Indian Women’s cricket team played its first match against the West Indies. Although there were almost no spectators, for them it was everything. The Indian Women Cricket team is a story about how they turned a loud NO into an even louder YES!

Legendary players like Shanta Rangaswami and Sandhya Agarwal became pioneers. Most of them had to balance studies, work and then train in the dark, under floodlights that barely worked! 

After them came a generation that refused to be ignored. Names like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami carried an entire generation and gender on their shoulders! In 2005, under the captaincy of Mithali Raj and with the experience of players like Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra, the Indian team fought its way to the final. This tournament showed just how far Indian Women’s cricket had come despite limited resources and media attention. India lost the final but for millions back home, it didn’t feel like defeat. This was a team that had risen from obscurity to stand on the world stage against the best in the world. 

Finally, in 2006, BCCI took over the women’s cricket team. This was a historic step — it meant that the same powerful organization that managed men’s cricket would now oversee women’s cricket, providing access to similar resources as the men’s team.

In 2017, the final of the women’s ODI World Cup had the entire nation holding their breath. When Anya Shrubsole bowled those final yorkers, the tears not only fell from the players but also from millions of people back home. Something changed that day. They didn’t win gold but an entire Nation’s heart. 

Now, cut to 2025. Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur, and attacking players like Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh, India finally won the World Cup they deserved. It has taken 49 years, but finally, Indian Women’s cricket is as mainstream as men’s, elevating the stature of the 1000s of women who fight for equal recognition as their male counterparts.