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Indian actress Mandira Bedi, who is considered a figure of inspiration for women’s entry into cricket broadcasting, once played a heroic role in keeping the Indian women’s cricket team afloat. At the peak of her popularity back in the early 2000s, due to her presence on live cricket television, Bedi indirectly sponsored the Women in Blue in their most difficult days. 22 years before the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side made the country proud by winning the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, Mandira came to the team’s rescue when they were struggling for money and couldn’t even afford proper accommodation and plane tickets for a tour of England. How Mandira Bedi Helped Indian Women’s Team Since the Indian women’s cricket team didn’t fall under the BCCI’s jurisdiction until 2006, the side featuring stalwarts like Anjum Chopra, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami was managed by the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI). But the body faced extensive financial distress and couldn’t afford to pay the tickets for the entire squad to travel to England for a series in 2003. This is when Mandira stepped in. Having created a revolution for female broadcasters, Mandira was immensely popular among the brands. The anchor was shooting an advertisement for a diamond jewellery brand when she learnt about the Indian women’s team and their painstaking story. She decided to donate her entire fee from the deal with the brand to the WCAI, becoming a silent sponsor of the team. WCAI’s Financial Struggles Mandira also raised money for the WCAI through her connections with different companies and ensured Indian women’s cricket stayed afloat before the BCCI and its state bodies took over three years later. “The Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) was formed in 1973 and selected the national team until 2006, when the BCCI finally took the women’s game under its wings. Looking back, those were days without money, but the women played on for the passion and love of the game,” Nutan Gavaskar, sister of the legendary Sunil Gavaskar and one of the senior members of the WCAI, told PTI. “There was one tour of New Zealand where we couldn’t afford hotel stays for the girls. Our team ended up staying at multiple homes of kind NRI families who hosted them. On another occasion, Mandira Bedi shot a commercial for a famous diamond brand and donated her entire endorsement fee to the WCAI. That money helped us arrange air tickets for India’s tour of England,” she added. It tells a lot about Mandira that she never made her contributions to the Indian team public, not looking for any credit or applause, even as she played an instrumental role in safeguarding the women’s game in the country.
