Now, more than 30 years later, Indian women’s cricket has made a few strides forward. The team reached the semi-finals of the 2000 World Cup, the final of the 2005 tournament, and they reach Australia on Sunday to participate in the 2009 edition of the tournament — led by Jhulan Goswami, one of the premier fast bowlers in the world, with hard-working all-rounders Amita Sharma and Rumeli Dhar, and a middle-order bolstered by talented batswomen Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra. Didn’t an Indian team with a very similar composition famously return home with a World Cup trophy 26 years ago?

No role models
Even in the late 70s and early 80s, when the Indian men’s team were starting to come into their own, cricket was popular amongst women, insists Behroze. But England captain Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, who averaged 45 and 58 in Tests and ODIs respectively, was the only real woman superstar to idolise. “We would pounce onto whatever records were available and hear tales about her achievements. Men’s cricket was always a fascination and we used to get complementary passes to go watch them play at the CCI or at Wankhede,” Behroze says. Politicians played a part in the development of women’s cricket, and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was regarded as a promoter of the sport. “She told us that we were lucky to be among the top 11 cricketers to represent the country and that we should really value the India cap and blazer,” Behroze says about Gandhi.

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