From this year, KSCA will provide turf wickets for women cricketers to practice at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Manasagangothri, Mysuru…

By S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

Women’s cricket in India has seen tremendous growth post 2005, when the Indian Women’s Team emerged as runner-up in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup under the captaincy of Mithali Raj.

Though the Indian team lost in the finals, their efforts received tremendous appreciation, following which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recognised women’s cricket in 2006 and the Women’s Cricket Association of India was merged with BCCI.

Since then, women’s cricket has witnessed several reforms with better funding, infrastructure, sponsorships and domestic tournaments being conducted on a regular basis. The latest being the pay parity, where women cricketers are paid on par with men cricketers at the international level. The match fees at the domestic level have also risen significantly to ensure women’s cricketers grow financially, as well as to enhance their cricketing skills.

Following the success of the 2005 ICC Women’s World Cup, the Indian women’s team has been performing to the best of their abilities.

While ended up as runner-up again at the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in 2017 and faltered in the group during the following World Cup held in 2022, the results changed when the women’s team won the ODI World Cup last year, defeating South Africa.

The success of the 2005 World Cup inspired many young women to take up cricket at a professional level. BCCI’s decision to introduce Women’s Premier League (WPL) came as a big boost for women’s cricket in the country, with many cricketers finding their way to Indian Test, ODI and T20 squads.

Karnataka’s contribution

Among the Indian States, Karnataka has contributed significantly to women’s cricket. Shantha Rangaswamy led the Indian Women’s Team during its first-ever Test match in 1976.

She not only received the Arjuna Award for her achievements but also became the first woman cricketer to receive the BCCI’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to women’s cricket.

The following years have seen players such as Karuna Jain, Mamatha Maben, Veda Krishnamurthy, V.R. Vanitha and Shreyanka Patil, among others donning the Indian colours.

Boost for women’s cricket in Mysuru

In Mysuru, women’s cricket has seen tremendous growth over the past few years.

Earlier, Bengaluru, which had emerged as the hub for men’s cricket, emerged as the hub of women’s cricket as well.

Now, things have changed with Mysuru contributing exceedingly well by producing the women’s cricketers who have been representing the State and National teams.

In fact, Shubha Satheesh became the first player from Mysuru to represent the Indian Women’s Team in Test matches.

The boost for women’s cricket in Mysuru came during 2019-2020, with Bowl Out Cricket Academy providing exclusive coaching for women.

The Academy, under Head Coach S. Rajath, has produced many women cricketers in a short span of five years, who have gone on to represent the State and National teams. In fact, Shubha Satheesh, who played for India, is a product of the Academy. The Academy at Mahajana College Grounds started with two girls during 2019-20. However, its operations were shut down following COVID-19. Later, it was resumed post-COVID and there has been no looking back.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Rajath said, “We started with two girls in our camp and today we have a total of 55 girls training under us. The seed we sowed five years back has been yielding us good results. Our goal is to create a good number of women cricketers to contribute at the State and National level.”

Last year, 10 women and girl cricketers from Mysuru represented the Karnataka State team in various age groups.

Among the women cricketers who have played for State and National level from Rajath’s Academy include Shubha Satheesh (Indian Women’s Test Team), P. Saloni (Karnataka State U-23 ODIs, T20), J. Deeksha (Karnataka State U-19), Liyanka P. Shetty (Karnataka State U-15), Nesara Sapthagirish (Karnataka U-15), Karishma U.J. Gowda (Karnataka U-15) and Yashika K. Gowda (Karnataka State ODIs).

Other academies

Girls from other cricket academies in the city have also represented the State teams in various age categories.

K. Harshitha of Adhyayan Cricket Academy has represented the Karnataka U-15 girls’ team, Kashvi Shekar of Sportigo Cricket Academy has played Karnataka

State in ODIs and Veda Varshini of Sairam Cricketers represented the Karnataka U-19 team.

All these achievements have come in the last five years, which is evident that women’s cricket in Mysuru has been booming.

The recent achievement of women in cricket has also changed the mindset of parents, who are now seen dropping their daughters and picking them back up after attending their cricket coaching classes.

From this year, the Karnataka State Cricket Association has been providing turf wickets for women cricketers to practice at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Manasagangothri, for them to accustom themselves with turf wickets, as the entire league and following matches are played on turf wickets.

Weekend camps are being conducted under the watchful eyes of senior women and men cricketers to enhance the abilities of women cricketers.

Women’s Zonal League

“Till recently, there was no proper guidance for women’s cricket and they were also denied opportunities to practice on turf wicket. The new KSCA Committee, giving emphasis to women’s cricket, has decided to give equal opportunity for women cricketers to improve their skills by providing them with infrastructure and quality coaching.

Currently, women cricketers are being prepared for the selections of KSCA Academy which will commence from April at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium where around 30-35 talented women cricketers will be selected to be trained round the year under the guidance of experienced cricketers. From this year, KSCA Mysuru Zone has also formed a separate Women’s Selection Committee, which will not only handle the selection process, but also coaching.

Going forward, we will also start separate Women’s Zonal League which will provide equal opportunities for cricketers to showcase their skill in match situations.” — P. Srinivas Prasad, Convenor, KSCA Mysuru Zone