Since its introduction, women’s cricket in India has advanced significantly. Women’s cricket received little to no support in the early years and was not taken seriously. Women’s cricket, however, has changed and grown in popularity in India over the years, becoming one of the most followed sports in the nation today.
Women’s cricket was for a very long time treated as an afterthought to its male counterpart. Despite women’s cricket hosting the inaugural World Cup, it was the men’s game that gained popularity. Men’s cricket matches have historically taken place at the pedestrian. When we use the word “cricket,” it’s nearly a given that we’re referring to men’s cricket rather than women’s. But over the past few years, everything has changed.
Evolution of Women Cricket
Interest in women’s cricket has significantly increased since 2010 in this regard. Despite how harsh that may sound, India is a cricket-mad nation, and a generation ago, the women’s national team wasn’t particularly strong. However, the women’s team has improved since the early 2000s. They made their first World Cup final appearance in 2005, however, they fell short to Australia. They repeated the act twelve years later, although it is obvious that a lot more people were aware of the 2017 ad.
Women’s cricket was not covered widely in India for a very long time. For instance, a few members of the present team have stated that they were unaware of India’s women’s team for a very long time. The women’s team hardly ever played, and even when they did, none of their games were televised, which was a major contributing factor.
The Indian women’s cricket team, captained by Mithali Raj, has been at the heart of this revolution, along with another seasoned player, Jhulan Goswami. The team has become one of the best teams in the world as a result of several outstanding performances in recent years. In both 2005 and 2017, they reached the ICC Women’s World Cup final. In the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20, they advanced to the semifinals.
Rise to Top
The Indian team made history by reaching the Women’s T20 World Cup final, which they played in front of 86,174 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. A lot of people watched it on television in addition to that. According to BARC data, female viewers accounted for 39% of the 5.3 billion viewing minutes that occurred during the tournament. With a staggering 1.95 million TV viewers, the match between Manchester Originals and Oval Invincibles in The Hundred earlier became the highest-watched women’s cricket game in the UK.
The Future
In India, women’s cricket appears to have a promising future right now. For a while now, the national team has been performing well. World-class players are frequently called up to the franchise leagues. Many athletes can enter the professional ranks of the sport thanks to a system. In the future, there will be a women’s IPL. But more significantly, the little girls are paying attention. They have heroes they aspire to be like as they grow up. These are only positive developments for India.
Conclusion
The growth of women’s cricket in India has had a profound effect on society as well. It has questioned established gender roles and disproved preconceived notions about women’s skills. Young girls in India who want to succeed in sports increasingly look up to women cricket players as role models and sources of inspiration. The popularity of women’s cricket in India has also highlighted the necessity of gender equality in sports and the significance of giving women equal chances.
In India, cricket has traditionally been a male-dominated sport and is frequently referred to be a gentleman’s game. But the country’s cricketing scene has seen a dramatic transformation in recent years. Women’s cricket is rapidly growing in popularity at a never-before-seen rate and shattering long-standing barriers.
