India’s women cricketers pad up for greater glory

Indian women cricketers led by Harmanpreet Kaur registered their first Test win at home against England in Navi Mumbai on Saturday. The 347-run victory margin, the highest in the history of women’s Test cricket, is remarkable since the team rarely plays Tests: The one-off Test against England was India’s first Test at home in nine years and only fifth since 2014.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has seen scope in the women’s game and things are changing. First came pay parity and then the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The India team was also up to the task: They won gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, were finalists at the 2020 T20 World Cup and semi-finalists at the 2023 edition, and won silver at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. The WPL will further light up the scene. Playing with and against the world’s top cricketers will prepare players for international matches. With time, the WPL will become the supply line in women’s cricket. At the auction on December 9, two Indian uncapped players Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh were bought for ₹2 crore and ₹1.3 crore, respectively, while some big international names such Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, the Player of the Tournament at the Women’s Big Bash league in Australia, West Indian allrounder and former skipper Deandra Dottin, and Australian allrounder Kim Garth, went unsold.
Later this week, India Women begin their series against Australia at home with a one-off Test. Ahead of the England Test, opener Smriti Mandhana had said she hoped to represent India in a World Test Championship one day. For that to happen, more Tests need to be featured in the cricket calendar. Who knows, as the women’s T20 leagues catch the fancy of fans and money is pumped in, that may happen sooner than later.