Big money pouring into WPL, U-19 T20 World Cup win are massive breakthroughs for India’s women cricketers

India women's national cricket team or the Women in Blue at the DY Patil Stadium in December 2022. (Source: Twitter/@JemiRodrigues/File image)

It has been quite a fortnight for Indian women’s cricket. On January 16, the media rights for the first five seasons of the Women’s Premier League, beginning this March, were acquired by Viacom18 Media for a staggering Rs 951 crore – which translates to roughly Rs 7.09 crore per match. Less than ten days later, on January 25, the five teams were bought for a cumulative Rs 4,669.99 crore.

The coup de grace, of course, came on Sunday (January 29), when India were crowned champions of the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup. To say that women’s cricket is riding the crest of a wave in the country would be a gross understatement.

Heady Days Ahead

The excitement generated by these developments will only grow over the next month, leading up to the first edition of the WPL. Harmanpreet Kaur and her side will seek to emulate their younger counterparts at the Women’s T20 World Cup starting, also in South Africa, on February 10, while the small matter of the title sponsorship rights for the WPL and the player auctions too are on the anvil.

The euphoria generated by these heady events isn’t without justification; beyond the financial windfall, there is so much to look forward to insofar as women’s cricket in India, indeed the world, is concerned.

Having wrestled – sometimes quietly, at others vociferously – to step out of the giant shadow of the men’s game, women’s cricket is now on the cusp of a massive breakthrough. The interest generated by the WPL, as evidenced by the massive financial investments, is a reflection of the determination of those in positions of authority to put their money where their mouth is.

Logically, it should ensure an exponential increase in the standard of the sport in the country, and in the numbers of girls and women aspiring to make a career out of cricket now that they have the luxury of the safety net of financial security.

Matching Australia’s Benchmark

India has been there and thereabouts on the global stage without making the ultimate breakthrough. In retired virtuosos Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, they boast the highest run-maker and wicket-taker respectively in Women’s One-Day Internationals, but as a group, they have found the final hurdle a bridge too far, finishing runners-up twice in the 50-over World Cup (2005 and 2017), and once in the T20 World Cup (2020).

They possess some of the finest batters in the women’s game now, not least Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana, and it’s primarily around this duo that the South African World Cup sojourn too will revolve. But India Women aren’t only about the captain and her deputy, hence the quiet optimism that this T20 World Cup could be the event when the floodgates open.

Australia have set the benchmark in women’s cricket with their power-packed game and an unflagging commitment to fitness, which translates not just to agility in the field but also the propensity to keep making smart decisions under pressure. The opportunity to share a dressing room during the WPL with several superstars from the Australian team will allow young Indians, especially, to watch from close quarters how the likes of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry, among others, prepare for matches and their routines. That they will be able to pick their brains and add to their knowledge bank will be an invaluable educational tool as they prepare to dip their toes in the cauldron of international cricket.

WPL’s Importance

The commendable success of the Under-19 team, led by senior international Shafali Verma, speaks to the solid structural base at the grassroots level that India have pieced together. It’s imperative that the feeder system remains vibrant and keeps throwing up options for the senior selectors to choose from, because it will then mean that there is no room for complacency among the established order.

For someone like Shweta Sehrawat, the leading scorer at the Under-19 World Cup, to have the chance of playing in a tournament as competitive as the WPL alongside some of the best in the business couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

With match fees now on par with their male counterparts and central contracts that are a welcome guarantee, India’s leading internationals could perform without the threat of financial uncertainty. The WPL will ensure this percolates to the rank and file, thereby enticing many more dreamy-eyed youngsters to pursue the sport as a career choice.

R Kaushik is a Bengaluru-based cricket writer who has been writing on the sport for more than 30 years. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.