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At the stroke of midnight, when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stretched out her hand to catch Nadine de Klerk off Dipti Sharma at cover, Indian women’s cricket team fortunes changed forever. Her act was followed by thousands of overextended arms at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai cheering her and the team, and crores across India and the world who raised theirs, some in prayer and some in cheer. For me, who has followed the fortunes of women’s cricket in India, right from its inception in the early 70s, it was a surreal experience. Having been guided, along with a few of the first batch of women players (including the maestro Diana Eduljee), by the legendary Vinoo Mankad in Mumbai, one did watch the pioneers of the movement of ladies cricket plead with the authorities for facilities and recognition. From Pleading for Recognition to Owning the Stage From 1973, when the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) was formed, till 2022 the ladies had to endure a big struggle to be accepted by the authorities. From using crowd funding for International tours to imploring for remuneration to represent the country, they had to endure, what can be called, a second citizen status, performing silently with nothing to gain but pride. Nutan Gavaskar, former secretary of WCAI recalled how actor Mandira Bedi donated her endorsement fee to fund the Indian women’s tour of England. Even after the reins of women’s cricket was entrusted to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), thanks to a mandate by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2006, the sorry plight of the women continued as the regimes running the game in India then, kept treating women’s cricket more as a millstone around the neck rather than a sport to be developed. Though the ladies made the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup twice (2005 and 2017) and continued to gain laurels by individual performances in One Day and Test cricket, the team mostly faltered when it mattered most, in crunch games. When the System Finally Opened Up The big change, that ignited the movement for the women, was the announcement of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2022. The BCCI under Jay Shah, then Hon. Secretary, kickstarted the WPL, in 2023, featuring five teams, giving the ladies an opportunity to play cricket with and against top rated international players in state of the art stadiums, watched by millions on the telly and, most importantly, to earn good money. Shah’s team took another step forward by taking a decision to ensure pay parity where the women’s match fees in all formats of the game would be equal to those earned by men. These decisions took the team forward and gave the Ladies what they needed the most – acceptance. Another obstacle faced by the women’s team was the round robin appointments of coaches, which impacted the team’s stability. For two decades (from 2003 till 2023) the team had eight coaches. The appointment of Amol Muzumdar in October 2023 steadied the ship and put it on course to achieve this monumental victory. The Stars Who Lit Up the World Cup The tournament saw outstanding performances by many Indian team players, the monumental innings played by Jemimah Roderigues against reigning champs Australia, the consistency of Dipti Sharma, Smriti Mandhana’s and Harmanpreet’s timely innings and more, ensured India’s pathway to supremacy. The fabulous insights and guidance by the support staff, led by Muzumdar gave a much-needed boost to their campaign. And, not to forget, the families of the players who constantly encouraged their wards – a few parents allowing their girl child to play with boys like in the case of Shefali Verma and Amanjot Kaur – which kept their minds concentrated on the cause. India’s players celebrate their win at the end of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 one-day international (ODI) final match between India and South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 3, 2025. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE — This watershed win by the Indian women happened against all odds. It won’t be fair to call this the ‘Indian women’s 1983 moment’ simply because it’s their victory against many factors, societal and more which had proved detrimental to help them move forward. With this win our girls in blue have made a statement, standing tall on their own. The BCCI deserves kudos for giving the girls the funds, facilities and more importantly, acceptance and acknowledgement that cricket’s richest sports body is standing right behind them and that they are no more the ‘also rans’ of Indian cricket. Post the victory, the fan base of the women’s team has increased manyfold and today, the world knows all the members of the team, unlike just a few names in the past. It will be exciting to see the auction for the 2026 WPL where franchisees will be bidding for Kranti Gaud, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur, Shree Charani and others who have put Indian women on top of the world’s cricket map. The author is former Bombay University cricketer and former captain of the Cricket Club of India and who has been covering the game for over three decades
