No more just a ‘gentleman’s game’ as more girls take to cricket grounds

The caller exhilarating World Cup triumph of the Indian women’s cricket squad is expected to beryllium a changeable successful the limb for women’s sports successful general, and cricket successful particular. But a increasing fig of girls successful Bengaluru person been taking up cricket, with academies successful the metropolis reporting a astir 50% summation successful women's information implicit the past 3 years, driven by the visibility of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), adjacent lucifer fees, and greater viewership of women’s cricket internationally, among different factors.

Coaches enactment that portion cricket is inactive wide perceived arsenic a “men’s game,” erstwhile girls are fixed due training, entree to prime facilities, and opportunities to practise alongside peers, they excel astatine the sport, . However, they besides constituent retired that astir of these players person transitioned from different sports specified arsenic basketball, hockey, and badminton, highlighting that astatine the schoolhouse oregon basal level, cricket inactive lacks structured pistillate teams and remains mostly male-dominated. 

Soumya Verma, 21, who joined cricket 2 years ago, was a erstwhile shot and hockey player. She says her schoolhouse ne'er had a girls’ cricket team. “I utilized to play shot for inter-school tournaments, and 1 day, erstwhile the cricket squad needed an other player, I filled successful for idiosyncratic else. That’s erstwhile 1 of the coaches noticed maine and said I had a earthy hand-eye coordination acceptable for cricket”.

Ms. Verma noted that portion facilities for women person improved greatly, a fewer differences remain. “The prime of nets, the benignant of instrumentality we get, oregon sometimes the abstraction we are allotted, is inactive not afloat astatine par. But the alteration successful mindset is visible,” she added.

Parents backing up

Apart from infrastructure and remuneration, parents’ attitudes, too, are changing. Mahendra Bohra, whose 15-year-old girl archetypal joined cricket during a summertime campy and past joined Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), said helium nary longer worries if studies instrumentality a backseat. “She enjoys cricket much than studying. I conscionable respect the mode she bowls now,” helium said, adding that his girl began dreaming of playing professionally aft watching Indian squad vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and that her dedication has, successful crook changed his ain perspective.

“Earlier, we utilized to deliberation lone boys could marque a vocation retired of sports. Now, erstwhile I spot her speech astir matches and program her practice, I consciousness parents similar america besides request to beryllium arsenic interested. It makes children judge this way is possible”. 

Another illustration is 19-year-old Ananya Santosh who is balancing her studies and practices. Until past year, she travelled astir 3 hours a time from her location successful Electronics City to her cricket academy located adjacent Ulsoor, returning precocious but refusing to skip practice. Seeing her commitment, her household past twelvemonth shifted to Seshadripuram truthful she could absorption amended connected grooming and studies. 

A oversea change

“I person seen a oversea of alteration implicit the years,” says Irfan Sait, caput manager and managing manager of the KIOC. “Earlier, parents were hesitant to fto their daughters instrumentality up cricket, and girls themselves came with a batch of doubt. Today, they travel prepared and determined to marque a vocation retired of it. Parents travel their progress, inquire astir their fitness, and instrumentality pridefulness successful each tiny achievement,” helium said. 

However, the approach, galore coaches admit, varies erstwhile it comes to grooming girls. “When we manager a 19-year-old girl, we often measure her against the modular of a 16-year-old boy. We cannot expect a miss to lucifer the carnal maturity of a 19-year-old boy. By mounting the benchmark somewhat below, they clasp their own, summation confidence, and respond good to rigorous training,” 1 of the coaches said.