Published: Jun 09, 2016, 06:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 10, 2016, 05:49 PM (IST)
When newly-announced BCCI President Anurag Thakur mentioned that he visioned India Women as No. 1 team by 2020, it was heartening to hear these words after all these years. Knowing the fact India Women are coming off ICC Women T20 World Cup 2016 where they had mixed results, this is a major boost for the Eves. India Women skipper Mithali Raj had expressed her excitement towards international tournament and the nod coming with immediate effect was surprising for everyone around. For the first time the Women in Blue have an advantage over Men in Blue, for some of them may be called up by BBL franchises — something the men cannot do as per BCCI norms. ALSO READ: WBBL franchises set eye on India Women players
Speculations of calling key players — Mithali, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jhulan Goswami — are already making rounds. But it is staggering to see how the growth pertaining to India Women have scaled up to what it has been earlier. Let us have look at how Eves had been neglected by BCCI despite their constant efforts.
BCCI’s reluctance:
BCCI were expected to do a lot of promotions for India Women, none of which seemed to happen. After merging with ICC, many cricket boards decided to schedule tournaments for women, but BCCI had other plans. The West Indian and Sri Lankan women sides flourished after mergers with ICC.
Ever wondered why most countries witnessed women’s cricket soaring high by 2006 as Indian Women looked desperately for an attempt to even play? As West Indies Women have come in leaps, have reached the final of the ICC World Cup, and have lifted the ICC World T20. India Women, on the other hand, reached the semi-final in 1997 and made it to the final four in the next three tournaments as well, but their performance took a dip.
As for T20I tournaments, India entered the semi-final stage in 2009 and 2010, but things went downhill from there. They languished at seventh position in 2012, and 2014 proving to be a disastrous exit as the Eves could not reach the top four after increase in the number of teams. A lot of blame was placed on BCCI for the slack in policies. The pay structure of India Women was never known until recently, and BCCI’s blatant reluctance towards women’s cricket was clearly visible then. Another factor was shifting of venues of women cricket to prioritise men’s domestic cricket explains it further. ALSO READ: Mithali Raj: India Women need fielding coach
“For the World Cup (T20), we just had a coach, manager, physio and trainer. Probably if we have a fielding coach or an assistant coach it will enhance the team as there won’t be too much pressure on the coach to look after everything. The coach can’t deal with everything. When some of us are batting in the nets, there is nobody to give fielding practice to the other girls as the coach would be at the nets.”
This recent quote by Mithali shows how disappointed she is. There is no doubt whatsoever that she speaks for the entire team regarding the treatment dished out to them despite consecutive victories in limited-overs cricket against Australia or Sri Lanka. Knowing India Women will be playing in international tournaments now, the demands need to be met.
Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami – Indian Women Powerhouse:
“I think we saw in the Indian team some very dynamic players, including Harmanpreet Kaur, I think she stood out. And of course Jhulan Goswami, she’s a legend of the game and someone I’d love to see in the Women’s Big Bash. She’s a great team person and I’ve certainly enjoyed many battles with her over the years.”
As soon as India Women were shown the green signal to make their way to international tournaments, the demands from overseas is soaring high for India’s key players. Alex Blackwell from Australia and playing for Sydney Thunder — winners of the previous edition of BBL — was all excited to get Harmanpreet and Jhulan to their side. ALSO READ: BCCI makes the smart call in allowing India Women to play WBBL, WSL
Initially, India Women were not given the nod to go ahead for overseas league. The excuse was to preserve them for international cricket. Unfortunately, with no IPL to hone their T20 skills, things just got worse. That has thankfully been taken care of, and India Women can play in BBL and other tournaments.
Mithali currently stands tall in the list of Indian Women’s run-scorers with 5,301, while Harmanpreet, with 1,494, is fifth. Mithali raced Charlotte Edwards throughout ICC World T20 2016 to secure the spot for most World T20 runs. She eventually finished behind Charlotte. As for overall ODI wicket-takers’ list, the No. 2 position belongs to Jhulan with 175 wickets.
The numbers are crucial, as are the consistent performances. The trio will no doubt and performance have brought in the eagerness amongst international women cricketers to get them to their franchises. The squad will be announced soon, and two of these women can get chance to feature in Sydney Thunder or Sydney Sixers.
Developments by BCCI:
– As they say, better late than never. BCCI are planning to bring zonal leagues for Under-16 girls in order to fulfill the aspirations and dreams of the girls wanting to become the next Mithali Raj of the country.
– Now that Mithali has voiced her requirement for support staff, BCCI will be looking to change the management of the national side. Since the target in mind is 2020, coaches should ideally be selected on the basis of those who can serve the tenure for long and help the Eves to excel, help them walk equivalent to the men’s team.
(Shruti Hariharan is a Content Writer with CricketCountry. You can follow her on Twitter at @Shruti_2890)
