Indian Women's Cricket Team BIOGRAPHY & MORE

The annual contracts of India's men's cricketers were announced last month by the BCCI with a total of 28 players on the retainer list for the period from October 2020 to September 2021. The highest bracket is Rs 7 crore which is the salary that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah will earn in the period, apart from their match fee. There are a total of four categories with the 'A+' category earning Rs 7 crore for the year. The players in the 'A' category get Rs 5 crore each while players in category 'B' get Rs 3 crore each. Cricketers in the 'C' category get Rs 1 crore each.

Outbursts on this pay gap have happened over the years while women cricketers have also defended it. Smriti Mandhana had told, "We need to understand that the revenue which we get is through men's cricket. The day women's cricket starts getting revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. But right now, we can't say that" she had told me last year. If such is the case, then the debate goes on whether the BCCI has tried to ramp up the revenue for women's cricket and make it more marketable? The Indian women's cricket team sat at their home for an entire year after playing the Women's T20 World Cup, where they had reached the final.

When Covid resulted in the force majeure of sports, BCCI organized an IPL for the men with 60 matches. Then the men's team went to Australia to play 12 matches, including two preparatory games. Then they played against England at home, followed by an IPL which got canceled due to a surge in COVID cases. Whereas, the women players took part in the four-match Women's Challenge T20 matches during the IPL last year. Their first international match after the World Cup final was held a year later in March 2021, a One-day International series against South Africa in Lucknow.

They went into the series against South Africa after only three training sessions. The glaring number of fewer women's cricketing action reveals that BCCI is in no mood to increase the fixtures of women's cricket just because women's cricket is not commercially attractive — the TV ratings are lower, the attendance at the grounds is smaller, sponsorship revenues are minuscule as compared to men's cricket. However, a little bit of planning could resolve the issue. The majority of women's games take place simultaneously when men's cricket action unfolds, which reduces its viewership. Giving women's cricket sufficient airtime and promoting it and hyping it could eventually address this issue and therefore the pay gap could be reduced eventually.

Sometimes applauding a fighting performance in a losing cause is dangerous, for it masks its many flaws in it. The fight on display is the very nature of a must-win game. And Harmanpreet Kaur exhibited that fight, that hunger, and that one last push. As the Indian women’s cricket team fought dew, an in-form South African lineup, and injury concerns, they lost sight of what was in front of them, a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

When the Protea fire burned brightly at the Hagley Oval with Mignon du Preez and Sune Luus stitching a partnership, the required run rate hovered around the seven runs mark and all they needed was a run of each ball. With three off-spinners turning the ball into the two right-handers, Mithali Raj had assigned everyone deep on the leg side.

From the start of the 40th over, India gave away singles and doubles on the side with the same energy as educational institutes give away sweets during Independence Day celebrations. More than 30 runs were scored in ones and twos in that period in that region as South African batters hardly ever felt the scoreboard pressure. 

Captaincy isn’t straightforward. It never is. There is always a fear of not doing enough. But in the situation where Mithali was in, she had to make a decision whether she needs protection behind the square on the leg side or in front of it. She could have either had the backward-square leg or the short mid-wicket inside the circle. She wanted both those fielders on the rope and that unfortunately played into the hands of the chasing side.

But India’s campaign cannot be boiled down to this last phase. It has been a tournament where they have had phases of a championship fabric, but at other times they have looked mediocre as a unit. Shefali Verma got two ducks to start with but Smriti Mandhana got off the blocks with her lazy elegance. Even after winning their first couple of games, that wobble at the top was magnified against the hosts in the third game as India lost to New Zealand. Mandhana and Kaur took care of the West Indies with tons that lifted India to a massive first innings total. The top order toppled once again in play, this time against England to err in their second loss in the tournament.

The loss to Australia will perhaps haunt them the most. As both the openers flopped, it was to Yastika Bhatia and Raj to rebuild, which they did, but with a laboring strike rate. Kaur’s blitzkrieg, in the end, posted a competitive total but it was never enough against an Australian side that always saves its best for World Cups.

The only game where three out of India’s top five batters scored more than a strike rate for a hundred was against the West Indies. It was also the only occasion that they posted more than 300. In all the other encounters, largely Raj and everyone else except Verma and Kaur batted slowly. After dropping Jemimah Rodriguez from the side there was a serious vacuum in terms of fast scoring batters on the team. Unfortunately, that empty space remained in this entire expedition.

Captain Raj dropped a sitter against the White ferns. Then they misfiled time and again in that game. It was clear that fielding was India’s weakest link in this World Cup. That came back to haunt them against South Africa in a game where they couldn’t have afforded to be sloppy. Fumbles and dropped catches floored their chances as the Proteas won the game in the last over.

For someone like Verma whose skill levels are world-class, she hails from a structure where fielding has taken a back seat for ages. Not just Verma, there are hundreds of girls who are playing cricket in India in the most remote of districts where they are only taught how to bat and bowl. Modern-day cricket prioritizes fielding more than any other skill set and it is time that coaches and mentors who work at the grassroots level pay severe attention to the same.

Indian women's cricket is finally set to get underway next month, which was delayed for a long time now. The Indian team last played a match on the International women's day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup against Australia, but eventually lost due to an Alyssa Healy masterclass.

But, now the Indian women's cricket team will finally play after a gap of almost one year. According to a report in Cricbuzz, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be announcing a full-fledged limited-overs home series against South Africa to be happening next month.

The one-month tour will consist of five one-day internationals and three T20Is as the dates of the fixtures are still being worked out considering the transit between the venues and the quarantine regulations in the country. 

According to the source, the venues and dates are very close to being finalized as the board is coordinating with Cricket South Africa. South African women are currently involved in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I home series against Pakistan women.

While the BCCI has announced the potential happening of the Senior Women's one-day tournament in the coming months, the Indian cricketers in the meantime were involved in the four-match Women's T20 Challenge in Sharjah, which took place simultaneously with the playoffs during the IPL.

Indian women’s cricket team on Tuesday registered an emphatic win against Bangladesh by 110 runs at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. Lower-order batters Pooja Vastrakar (30) and Sneh Rana (27) once again came to the batting rescue after the Women in Blue suffered a batting collapse despite the openers providing a great start to the innings with a 74-run stand in 15 overs.  India posted a moderate score of 229/7 in the first innings as it proved enough against a depleted Bangladesh side.

The Mithali Raj-led side completed their third victory in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 and kept their chances alive of qualifying for the semi-finals. India had suffered defeat to England and Australia in their previous two games which meant that anyhow they had to win their remaining two matches to stay in the competition.

India women’s cricket team will play their final league stage fixture against South Africa on March 27 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. If India wins against Sune Luus & co they will automatically reserve their berth in the semis, in case of a loss, they will have to rely on the NRR (net run rate) of their contenders like West Indies (6 points) and England (4 points from five matches).

"The 10 teams vying for the three remaining places in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 will be the hosts, Sri Lanka, along with Pakistan and West Indies from the ICC Women's Championship, the two other teams with ODI status, Bangladesh and Ireland, and the winners of the five regional qualifiers - Thailand (Asia), Zimbabwe (Africa), Papua New Guinea (East Asia Pacific), United States of America (Americas) and Netherlands (Europe)."

Not many may know this with the exception of the most ardent of cricket fans but India has a women’s national cricket team as well and one that has been punching above its collective weight over the years. The Indian women’s cricket team played its first-ever test in 1976 against the West Indies and its one-day international (ODI) debut came during the 1978 World Cup, in which it was the host as well thus making it the first cricket world cup to have been staged in India. The team played its first-ever T20 international in 2006 against England, which was its first opponent in ODIs as well. Right now the team is ranked at the fourth spot on the international rankings list.

To date, the team has played 36 tests and won 5 of them while losing 6 games and drawing in 25 games. In the ODI arena, it has played 241 games winning 132 matches and losing 104 of them. 2017 has been a better year with India scoring 12 wins out of 13 games. As far as twenty 20 internationals (T20Is) are concerned the team has won 37 out of 73 games. To date, before the 2017 World Cup, India has played in eight of the 10 editions and its best result has been a runner’s finish in the 2005 World Cup that was held in South Africa. It has played in all the editions of World T20 so far and it has managed to reach the semi-finals in the 2009 and 2010 editions.

In regional cricket, India has been a veritable superpower. It has become champions in each and every edition of the Asia Cup in the 50-over version (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2016) and the 20-over version (2012 and 2016) as well. In the tests, the team has won all its tests against South Africa but never managed to win any game against Australia and New Zealand. In the ODI form, it has won every game against Bangladesh, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, and Pakistan while it has won the least percentage of games against Australia. In the T20 form, it has won all the games against Bangladesh and South Africa while its success rate is the lowest against England.

The two most identifiable members of India’s women’s national cricket team are Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. Raj remains the highest run-getter of the present team in tests with 663 runs at 51 to her credit. In the same way, Goswami remains the highest wicket-taker with 40 wickets at 16.62 in her kitty.

In the ODI form, Raj once again leads with 5959 runs at 51.81, followed by Harmanpreet Kaur (1720 runs at 33.72), Poonam Raut (1335 runs at 31.04), and Jhulan Goswami (950 runs at 13.57). Goswami also leads the bowling charts in this format with 188 wickets at 21.96 followed by Ekta Bisht who has collected 69 wickets at 19.46.

Mithali Raj once again is the highest scorer for India in T20Is with 1708 runs at 37.95 followed by Harmanpreet Kaur (1223 runs at 24.95), Veda Krishnamurthy (470 runs at 16.78), Smriti Mandhana (424 runs at 17.66), and Jhulan Goswami (391 runs at 14.73). Goswami is the leading wicket-taker in this format as well with 50 wickets at 20.90 to her name. Next in line are Ekta Bisht (45 wickets at 14.84), Poonam Yadav (34 wickets at 12.29), and Anuja Patil (21 wickets at 20.28).

It seems that in the years to come, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Ekta Bisht are going to be the names that will play a principal role in taking the team forward to greater heights.

On Sunday, India had to chase 185 runs and unfortunately lost four wickets at the beginning of the innings. Eventually, the Australian women’s team got the team bowled at 99 runs in 19.1 overs. Batswomen Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had to leave the pitch within the first six overs. India suffered another huge blow as their wicketkeeper, Taniya Bhatiya, returned hurt post taking a hit on the helmet.

IND Vs AUS Women: The Indian women's cricket team has arrived on the Australian tour to play three ODIs, three T20s, and one Test. But the Indian players on the Tour of Australia are facing difficulties. Players are going through a strict 14-day quarantine before the start of the series. Such stringent restrictions were not applicable to the Indian men's team. 

Players are not able to practice much in the rooms provided during the quarantine period. The BCCI official said, "The rooms are very small. You can barely manage to do some training. There are no guards manning the place like the players witnessed in the UK but the quarantine is very strict''

Players in Britain were allowed to practice in the first week of isolation as they had spent two weeks in isolation in Mumbai The Indian women's cricket team arrived in Brisbane on Monday. The tour itinerary also changed due to covid-19 restrictions in Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne. All matches will now be played in Queensland and the series will begin on September 21 after a delay of two days.

In a country with a population of over a billion people, a land where cricket is considered a religion, the 2011 World Cup triumph at home marked a new era in the glorious chapter of India's cricketing history.  A couple of years after the Indian team carved their name in the record books, the Women in Blue looked set for their chance to shine on the world stage. 

However, a week before the most coveted tournament in the history of women's cricket took center stage, the news of the matches being moved out of Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai rocked the players and the fans. In a surprising turn of events, the Mumbai Cricket Association requested the BCCI to allow them an opportunity to host the summit clash of the Ranji Trophy featuring the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar against Saurashtra. 

In a male-dominated sport, such has been the apathy of the women's team, especially in India, that a World event is shifted days before its commencement only because of a domestic final. While the build-up prior to the event was far from ideal, the Indian eves set foot at the Brabourne Stadium with the sole aim of emulating the heroics of MS Dhoni and Co.

Away from the glaring eyes of the media, they diligently went through the grueling hours of sessions to erase the scars of the world event. With a plethora of changes to the squad that donned the national colors in 2013, it was time for the young generation to take center stage. 

Even before they sojourned to England for the next edition of the World Cup in 2017, our protagonists had to compete in the Qualifiers held in Sri Lanka to stake a claim for themselves. In hindsight, the Qualifiers proved to be a blessing in disguise as the Indian team entered the quadrennial event with plenty of match exposure.  

The inaugural match for the Indian team in the 2017 World Cup against England witnessed India's dominance with the bat as the top order led by Smriti Mandhana produced a masterclass to propel the Indian team to 281 runs in the first innings. A clinical bowling performance by the Women in Blue ensured India started their campaign with a 35-run win at Derby. The win not only started the journey of the Indian team in this mega event but also showcased the rise of the Indian team in the last couple of years. 

After their dismal performance in the World Cup at home, not many people gave them a chance. Not many people believed they could even win a single match; however, they proved everybody wrong by notching up consistent performances in the league phase of the tournament. 

Four years after India's rise to the international stage and their heroics in the shortest format of the game, the Women in Blue will be keen to replicate the same and clinch their maiden world title. In a span of five months, the Women in Blue will embark on their journey to New Zealand; however, this time around as one of the most dominant sides in world cricket. During the four years, the world came to an absolute halt in 2020 due to the pandemic. Days before a national lockdown was announced, the Indian team enthralled a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the summit clash of the T20 World Cup against Australia. 

While the Indian team was at the peak of their potential in the white-ball format, the unprecedented chaos derailed India's plan for an ideal preparation for the World Cup. A year-long break away from the sport resulted in the Indian team struggling to find their mojo at the international level. With an eye on the World Cup scheduled to commence in March 2022, the home season against South Africa and away tours to England and Australia were the three shoot-outs for the Indian team to finalize their combination before the mega-event.

Time away from the sport is never ideal for any sportsman, and it was evident during the home series against South Africa. With only a handful of practice sessions under their belt before the series, the Women in Blue looked rusty and succumbed to a 4-1 series loss. While the series against England and the recently concluded three-match ODI series provided plenty of opportunities for the team, they opened up glaring issues that needed immediate attention from Team India.  Five months from now, as the young Indian team will set foot for the opening encounter of the World Cup, we take a look at where the team stands right now.