India’s women’s cricket team finally ended their long wait for World Cup glory with a 52-run victory over South Africa on Sunday — and in the aftermath, a long-forgotten comment by former BCCI president N. Srinivasan has resurfaced. Srinivasan had reportedly told former captain Diana Edulji that he would “never let women’s cricket grow in India.”
Recalling the encounter, Diana said, “When Mr. Srinivasan became president, I went to congratulate him at the Wankhede Stadium. He said, ‘If I had my way, I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen.’ He hates women’s cricket.”
“I’ve always been a BCCI basher, right from the day women’s cricket came under the BCCI fold in 2006. BCCI is a very male-chauvinist organisation. They never wanted women to dictate terms or get into this space. I was very vocal right from my playing days,” She added.
Team India Shines on the Field
On Sunday, Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma delivered standout performances to help India post 298/7 in 50 overs, despite losing the toss. Verma, brought in as injury cover, scored a career-best 87 off 78 balls, while Deepti Sharma’s 5/39 sealed the match as South Africa were bowled out for 246.
World Cup-winning captain Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about handling criticism, saying, “I think criticism is also a part of life. It’s not necessary that everything should be good. Criticism is one of the main things in life because it brings balance. Otherwise, if everything goes well, you’ll be overconfident. I don’t blame those who criticize, because we know when we aren’t doing something right.
“I don’t have much to say, but I like to keep both things balanced. When good things happen, I don’t go too high; when bad things happen, I don’t dig deep. For me, the most important thing is to stay balanced, and I try to send the same message to my teammates. When everything is going well — it’s okay, well done, but now we have to maintain it. And even when things aren’t going well, we try to keep everyone together so that we can lift that person up.”
India’s maiden World Cup triumph has revived pride in women’s cricket while shedding light on the challenges players have faced in a male-dominated system, making the victory a landmark moment for the sport.