Remember the scene in ‘Chak De! India’ where the women’s national team had to encounter an unfair match against the national men’s team to seal their tickets to the hockey world cup? Scenes like these don’t just grace the silver screen…they walk out of the big screen to be enacted in real lives. Cricket has always been the ‘gentleman’s game’, even after the eves showed that they could do it in style. Women in cricket have never been popular. They have been looked down upon, yelled at and sidelined like outcasts.
Although the bigger names in the sport have encouraged their fairer counterparts to give it their all, yet there are some, like Shahid Afridi, for instance, who belong to the stone-age class of people, believing that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. In an interview, when Shahid Afridi was asked what he thought about the eves, pat came the reply. “Our women have magic in their hands; they are good cooks.â€
Women’s cricket has never been very popular. There are very few ‘cricket enthusiasts’ who would recognise a Jhulan Goswami, a Mithali Raj or even an Anjum Chopra. They are women of substance, who defied odds to play a sport they are passionate about. While most of us idolise the glam dolls who conquer our television sets during innings breaks and babble a few jargons and interview the players, none of us really talk about whether they understand what they are saying.
Instead of having them strut around, why not have women cricketers on board and have them share their insights with us? That way, we will not just get to know them better and realise their understanding of cricket, but also try and follow their performances whenever we can. In an era when we talk about women empowerment, there are players like Shahid Afridi who show why the empowerment is not happening at all. Kids who idolise him will follow his footsteps and his opinion on women.
Women’s cricket has always been a stepchild for the Boards. Neither has the prize money been big, nor have the promotions. The turnout, accordingly, has also been poor. For all the women who fight against the obstacles to wear the national colours and represent their nation, it is sheer disappointment when neither the fans, nor their authorities do much for them.
Women’s cricket needs to be backed strongly to make people like Afridi eat their words. And digest them too.