The Indian women’s cricket team has played brilliant cricket over the years. So, how come, they seem to be so invisible and under-rated?
By Kamran Khan
The ‘Men in Blue’ are mostly celebrities in Indian sports and public life. They play cricket round the year, in India and across the cricket-playing nations. The last T-20 World Cup was played in a non-cricket-playing country like America, and also in West Indies, where the crowd also comprised of Indian and Pakistani fans. Indian cricketers, especially those who are under lucrative contracts, and are big names in the game, are hugely famous, earn millions, and are much sought after by sponsors and advertisers with deep pockets, especially in the obscenely cash-rich and commercially-driven tournament called the IPL.
In the last edition, two Australian fast bowlers were ‘bought’ for more than Rs 20 crore for the short season, clearly, striking a sharp contradiction in a country where the majority live on the poorest margins, while mass unemployment and back-breaking inflation has rocked the nation in recent times. While it’s a success story in terms of spotting new and raw talent, the IPL has certainly degraded the finer nuances of this ‘gentleman’s game’ — making cricket a cash-rich milch cow of ‘fours and sixes’ and relentless ad-breaks, lining the pockets of sundry big businesses and Bollywood film stars, etc.
Contrast this with the fate of other sports in India — badminton, football, chess, hockey, kabaddi, wrestling, shooting, archery, gymnastics, athletics, etc. It’s a long and tragic tale. Contrast this with the fate of the ‘Women in Blue’ in Indian cricket, the same sorry tale unfolds — despite the fabulous achievements of the women’s cricket team in all forms of the game.
Take for instance the exciting Test match played against a competitive South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on June 28, 2024. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side, full of talented players, scored a massive 525 for the loss of four wickets. This was no fluke score. This was an outstanding achievement which has ‘never ever’ happened in the history of international women’s and men’s cricket in any form of the game!
Never before has a massive score of 525 been scored in a single day’s play! This was the most runs scored by any team in a single day’s play in Test history — for both men and women. The record previously belonged to the Sri Lankan men’s cricket team, which had scored 509 for the loss of nine wickets in the Colombo Test against Bangladesh in 2022. In women’s cricket, the record belonged to England, which had scored 431 for the loss of two wickets against New Zealand at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, way back in 1935, almost 90 years ago!
Batting first, India scored a 525 for four; opener Shafali Verma scored a fluent 205 runs with her opening partner, dashing Smriti Mandhana, who made a brisk 149 runs. Indeed, Mandhana and Verma rewrote history , compiling the highest-ever partnership for the opening wicket in a women’s Test with an unbeaten stand of 292 runs against quality fast-bowlers. The opening-duo also eliminated the 20-year-old record for most runs in a women’s Test for the opening wicket of 241, set by Pakistan’s Sajjida Shah and Kiran Baluch, against the West Indies in Karachi in 2004.
Verma is a gutsy cricketer from Rohtak, Haryana. Significantly, at just about 15, she became the youngest cricketer to play in a women’s Twenty20 International (T20I) for India, in 2019. Interestingly, in June 2021, she became the youngest player, male or female, to represent India in all the three formats of international cricket. In her fast-paced and outstanding career, she became the youngest cricketer to complete 1,000 runs in T20 internationals on October 8, 2022.
Stylish left-hand batter, Mandhana, is a well-known name in Indian and international cricket. Her incredible game on the field has been widely appreciated across many pitches in the international landscape. She plays a fluent, lucid and rapid game, not usually witnessed in women’s cricket. Her silken strokes, typically belonging to a left-hander, and especially on the off-side, are like renditions of classical melodies, so beautifully enacted. Her on-side play too is as nuanced and sublime, even when she is hitting big-time, and, across the boundary line.
Mandhana is currently the vice-captain of the Indian women’s team, and has also captained the side on certain occasions in the past. Undoubtedly, along with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, she is the scaffolding in the top order, and against all kinds of hostile attacks.
Mandhana hails from Mumbai. She made her Test debut in August 2014 against England at Wormsley Park. In October 2018, she was named in India’s squad for the Women’s World Twenty20 Tournament in the West Indies. Ahead of the tournament, she was called the ‘star’ of the team. She did not betray the ‘Great Expectations’.
During the tough tournament, she became the third cricketer from India to score 1,000 runs in T20 matches. She ended the year as the leading scorer in women’s one-day internationals, with a score of 669, and an outstanding average of 66.90.
She has been adjudged the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year. In May 2019, she won the International Woman Cricketer of the Year Award at the CEAT International Cricket Awards, 2019. Mandhana received the prestigious Arjuna Award on July 16, 2019.
“We will look back and refresh today, sit down, and have discussions about tomorrow. Nothing was taken away from Indian batters today; they were phenomenal,” said Delmi Tucker, South-African all-rounder, during the post-play press conference. “It’s a different format, and, obviously, Shafali has more time to settle down. She gave her all and made the most of the opportunity — since she is a great batter,” she said.
The Indian bowling attack was also formidable. Right-arm off-break bowler, Sneha Rana, took eight wickets in the first innings with a miserly economy rate of 3.02 . Rana is from Sinaula, on the outskirts of Dehradun, in Uttarakhand. Her father is a farmer. She also plays for Indian Railways.
She made her women’s one-day international and women’s Twenty20 international debut against Sri Lanka in 2014. Sneha is among the finest bowlers in the women’s team, along with Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma,
Surya Kumar Yadav’s remarkable catch, at the boundary, in the end overs, turned the fate of the match in India’s favour, in the T20 World Cup final recently. He has been hailed and feted since then, all over the country. Forgotten is an equally stunning catch taken by Harleen Deol in a T20 match three years ago. She took this fabulous reverse-cupped catch over her head, even while losing her balance, at the boundary against England in July 2021. This was similar, or perhaps more spectacular, than the ‘Sky’ catch in the men’s final. Among other things, this, yet again, reflects the discrimination suffered by the women’s team, despite their fabulous feats.
Stylish player, Jemimah Rodrigues (born September 5, 2000), is an all-rounder. Versatile in her talent, she has also played for the Under-17 hockey team of Maharashtra. In June 2018, she was awarded the Jagmohan Dalmiya Award, presented by MS Dhoni, for the Best Domestic Junior Women’s Cricketer.
Born and brought up in Bhandup, Mumbai, Rodrigues was selected for the Maharashtra under-17 and under-19 hockey teams. Her cricket U-19 debut began when she was 12, during the 2012–13 cricket season. She was 13 when she was selected for the under-19 state cricket team.
She is the second woman after Smriti Mandhana to score a double century in a 50-over cricket match. She scored 202 not out in 163 balls in Aurangabad, against the Saurashtra team, in November 2017.
Recently, on July 5, in a T20 match between India vs South Africa, she scored 53 not out in 30 balls. India lost the match by 12 runs.
Left-handed batter and right-arm off-break bowler, Deepti Sharma (born 24 August 1997), is an all-rounder. As of 2018, she was ranked third among the top all-rounders in the ICC cricket rankings and had the third highest individual score by a female cricketer in ODIs (188).
Sharma made her ODI international debut in 2014 against South Africa in Bengaluru. The match was part of the ICC Women’s Championship. Sharma’s best bowling figure in her career is 6-20, that she claimed in the final ODI against Sri Lanka at Ranchi.
Sri Lanka has defeated India in a thrilling final by 8 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. India won the toss and chose to bat first.
The Indians scored 165/6 in their 20 overs. Mandhana’s gutsy 50 took the team to 165 for six. She scored 60 off 47 balls, with 10 fours. Rodrigues scored 29 off 16 balls, with 3 fours and 1 six, and Richa Ghosh hit 30 off 14 balls, with 4 fours and 1 six. They played crucial roles facing a strong line-up of spinners as defending champions.
Udeshika Prabodhani was the solo Lankan pacer. The rest were slow bowlers. They effectively used the slow pitch to their advantage and it became tough for the Indians to score rapidly. Shafali Verma (16 off 19 balls) had a bad day on the field.
The run-out of Rodrigues and Mandhana’s dismissal left India at 133 for five in 16.5 overs. Ghosh, however, chose to attack. Her huge six off the bowling of Dilhari over mid-wicket was loaded with power.
Fabulous, remembered matches
In 2023, the Asian Games was held in Hangzhou, China. The Indian women’s team beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs, and won the country’s maiden cricket gold.
In 2023, in the second ODI at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on December 30, 2023, Australia beat India by only three runs.
In 2024, in the first T20 at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, January 5, 2024, India beat Australia by nine wickets.
In 2024, in the second 2nd ODI at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on June 19, 2024, India beat South Africa by 4 runs.
AMONG THE FINEST IN THE GAME
Shantha Rangaswamy, (born January 1, 1954), was the first, pioneering captain of the women’s cricket team. She played Test cricket for India in 16 matches, from 1976 to 1991. She was captain of the side in eight matches in 1976-77, and in four matches in 1983-84. India recorded its first-ever Test win in November, 1976, against the West Indies, under Shantha’s captaincy, at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna. She also played in 19 odiS from 1981to 1986, captaining the side in 16 matches, from 1981to 1984.
Mithali Dorai Raj, (born December 3, 1982), captained the women’s team from 2004 to 2022. She is the highest scorer in women’s international cricket, and ESPN ranked her as one of the greatest female cricketers of all time. She has received several national and international awards, including the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, the Arjuna Award in 2003, the Padma Shri in 2015, and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.
Mithali Raj is the most successful ODI captain of the Indian women’s cricket team — with an astounding record of 89 wins.
Harmanpreet Kaur, a swashbuckling batter, is the current Indian captain. She has become the first woman to achieve a perfect record of three wins in her first three Test matches as captain. Earlier, she has guided the team to triumphs against England and Australia in December 2023, before their recent victory over South Africa. She plays as an all-rounder and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2017.
She became the first woman for India to score a century in a women’s Twenty20 international match, and is the only Indian women cricketer with more than 3,000 runs in T20s. She is also one of the only three Indian women to have scored more than 3,000 runs in women’s ODIs. In October 2019, during the series against South Africa, she became the first cricketer for India, male or female, to play in 100 international Twenty20 matches.
Jhulan Goswami, a star in Bengal, was one of the most formidable fast bowlers in women’s cricket. She played for the team from 2002 to 2022. She played as a right-arm medium-fast bowler and right-handed batter. She is one of the fastest female bowlers of all time and is considered one of the greatest bowlers to ever play the sport.
She played 204 ODI matches before her retirement from international cricket in 2022, taking a high tally of 255 wickets, and holds the record for taking the most number of wickets in women’s one-day internationals. Goswami won the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award in 2007 and the MA Chidambaram Trophy for Best Women’s Cricketer in 2011. She became number one in the women’s ODI bowling rankings of the ICC in January 2016, and regained it in March 2019.
So what are the salary packages of top women’s cricketers?
Grade A players: Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma. They get ₹50 lakh per annum.
Grade B players: Renuka Thakur, Jemmiah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad. They get Rs ₹30 lakh per annum.
Grade C players: Meghna Singh, Devika Vaidya, Sabbineni Meghna, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Yashika Bhatia. They get ₹10 lakh per annum.
Players also receive a match fee of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000) per Test match, ₹6 lakh (per ODI, and ₹3 lakh per T20I.
Graphic by Rashi Gupta.