Harmanpreet Kaur says, "Hum logon ko recognition mil rahi hai, finally"

After the Women’s World Cup, women cricketers of India are getting more recognition than they ever did before. Despite the fact that India had reached the finals of the 2005 WC edition too, this time it was special for the cricketers particularly because of the attention, support, and appreciation they got. While increasing following on social media and in public places is evident, they are also being invited to grace seminars and events.

At a felicitation ceremony organized by a local school in Kanpur, women cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi and Sushma Verma, not only motivated school kids but also spoke about the importance of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, road traffic safety and Clean and Green India.

‘Women cricketers get recognition now’

Harmanpreet Kaur, who impressed one and all with her 171-run knock against Australia, to guide India to the finals, and holds the record for the highest individual score for India in Women’s Cricket World Cup history, said “World Cup ke liye jaane se pehle log hum logon ko utna nahi pehchante thay. But after performing well at the Women’s World Cup people have started recognizing us. Whenever we are at the airport or at any other public place, people request us for autographs and selfies with them. Ab lagta hai jaise hum logon ko recognition mil rahi hai, finally.”

Left-arm orthodox bowler Ekta Bisht whose spell of 5 for 18 against Pakistan, in the group stages, is one to remember, agrees with the vice-captain of the team. “You surely feel happy when your efforts fetch you an identity. I come from a small place and a girl playing cricket was something bizarre there. It’s just because of the support of my family that despite the adversities I could live my dream and played cricket for the nation. Cricket used to always be considered a gentleman’s game but now with our achievement, sports lovers watch women’s cricket matches with the same interest as men’s, says Ekta.

They are not resting on their laurels yet, the young guns are already gearing up for the next tournament, the T-20 World Cup tournament to be held next year. Wicket-keeper Sushma Verma, whose 33 run cameo against Pakistan shocked one and all said that though people’s expectations from them have increased, the girls are preparing well to keep up their performance in the game. “Indian women’s cricket team se ab aur zyada expectations hain. Now when people in our country have started following women’s cricket it’s our duty that we meet theirs. After the World Cup we, as a team, are focusing on the preparations of Women’s T20 World Cup. We have to perform well in the tournament and make our country proud.”

On Women’s IPL and biopics on sportspersons

Meanwhile, right-arm leg break bowler, Poonam Yadav is of the opinion that having a women’s IPL will also be a great idea. “The BCCI should start a women’s IPL tournament too. With such a tournament, women’s cricket would succeed in getting a bigger audience and it will also help us get more exposure.”

With biopics on sportspersons becoming a common sight in the years lately, the girls said their achievement is too new for filmmakers to consider making a movie on any one of them. However, the women emphasized that their prime focus was on the game, and biopics and films about them are secondary.

“Waise kisi filmmaker ne abhi hum logon ko biopic ke liye approach toh nahi kiya hai par hum sabhi ko lagta hai ki yeh samay khel par focus karne ka aur consistency maintain karne ka hai. Biopic toh banti rehegi baad main bhi. We all want that we should take Indian women’s cricket to the next level so that we maintain the interest of audiences in our game,” said, Mansi Joshi, the right-arm medium-fast bowler of the Indian women’s cricket team.