: While this was their fourth straight Asia Cup title, this time around the Indian women’s Cricket team is confident of taking one big step forward
IN November of 2006, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally decided to take over the running of women’s cricket in the country, the news came as a breath of fresh air to a fraternity that was feeling suffocated — sandwiched between the growing demands of the sport and its hackneyed administration.
Even though India reached the final of the 2005 World Cup, there had been sections within the fraternity that had started to question the existence of the game in the country for women. Lack of an efficient domestic set-up, financial restrictions, personal problems between players, sub-standard coaching and poor practice facilities meant India was slowly falling behind teams such as Australia, New Zealand and England — where the game was run professionally. When compared with men’s cricket in the country, ‘pity’ was a word fast becoming synonymous with the state of Indian women’s cricket at the grassroots level.
Now, a year-and-a-half after the BCCI took over, the road to the 2009 World Cup seems much brighter than ever before. The recent Asia Cup victory has brought with it a windfall for players who were otherwise used to meagre earnings. New talent has revitalised the team, and a better-equipped support staff has raised visions of making the coming year one to remember.
The Asia Cup win earlier this month was the fourth in succession for the Indian team. Nothing extraordinary about the result, but it was the way the team went about its business that raised visions of a brighter tomorrow.
Under captain Mithali Raj, the side won all their seven matches in the tournament, beating hosts Sri Lanka in the final by a whopping 177 runs. Delhi’s Asha Rawat and Kolkata’s Rumeli Dhar along with Mithali topped the scorers’ list while Jhulan Goswami ended up as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament followed by the seniormost player in the Indian team, Neetu David.
The team management has realised that the youngsters drafted into the side as an experiment proved to be as valuable as seniors — such as Neetu, who came back from retirement. With the team’s two stalwarts, Mithali and pacer Jhulan, reaching personal milestones as well — they got to 3,000 runs and 100 wickets respectively — the prospect of what lies...
