Stars from three generations — Shantha Rangaswamy, Mithali Raj, and Shreyanka Patil — engaged in a energetic dialogue at The Hindu Huddle on Friday on the growth of women’s cricket in India.
Shantha, the first Indian women’s workforce captain, spoke about her pioneering function. “We laid the foundation. We may not have seen the likes of Mithali and Shreyanka if we had faltered in the initial stages. What drove us was the passion for the game,” Shantha mentioned in a session titled “No Boundaries: Growth of Women’s Cricket in India”, moderated by Okay.C. Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu.
In a glittering worldwide profession, which spanned over 20 years, Mithali moved the needle in phrases of popularising women’s cricket.
Mithali mentioned the turning level for the sport got here in 2006, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took management of women’s cricket. “In my early days, when the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) ran the sport, the financial aspect was not great. It was a struggle to get investors and endorsements for us to have an international series. Coming under the BCCI was huge, because that opened access to better infrastructure, resources, equipment, and domestic structure,” Mithali mentioned.
Coming underneath the BCCI umbrella gave Mithali and others entry to top-class amenities like the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. At the NCA, interactions between girls cricketers and stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid proved to be invaluable. “When you have a dialogue with the likes of Sachin and Dravid, you learn a lot,” Mithali mentioned.
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The 42-year-old recalled a time when she sought the assist of Tendulkar. “When I was a bit older, I had trouble picking fast bowlers. I asked Tendulkar for advice, and he told me to practice on 18-yard pitches instead of 22-yard strips. This helped me a great deal, as I went on to win the T20 ‘Player of the series’ award in South Africa,” Mithali mentioned.
Shreyanka, the modern-day star, paid tribute to her predecessors. “Shantha madam laid the foundation. They had to face challenges initially because not all families allowed girls to play. And then came Mithali. People talked about Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as the big names. But in women’s cricket, Mithali was the biggest name for us. Our generation cannot thank our seniors enough for what they have done for women’s cricket. We are now in a stage where we get everything — infrastructure, facilities, exposure and much more,” Shreyanka mentioned.
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Published – May 09, 2025 07:03 pm IST
