Stay tuned: That's all India's women cricketers want from you, the fan
To draw comparisons to 1983 would've been easy, had the Women in Blue beaten England at Lord's to lift the ICC Women's World Cup 2017.
As it was, the cup didn't end up in Mithali Raj's hands. As it was, Jhulan Goswami's amazing spell didn't bring her glory in her final World Cup game, after being the flagbearer for Indian women's cricket for almost two decades.
At 191/3 chasing 229, India were in the driver's seat. But then something happened. Something that has happened millions of times, to cricketers of all sexes and skill levels.
Ask Clive Lloyd's West Indies team what happened in 1983. Where do you think MS Dhoni got his unshakeable reputation for being a 'finisher', if not in Mumbai in 2011?
In a final, scoreboard pressure is the biggest killer. That's what choked India.
There's nothing wrong with this young team. It's just inexperience. These players don't need a change of approach, a new way of coaching, or even a sports psychologist. But there's one thing they do need above all, which this tournament has given them.
They need eyeballs – fan attention for their cricket, not their dimples.
Deep-rooted bias
Full disclosure: this writer covered cricket on the field for nearly seven years, but hardly ever went to a women's match. Didn't need to. No one was interested – not I, not my boss, not my readers.
Till one day, for a story, I ended up calling Shanta Rangaswamy and Purnima Rau, two former India captains and pioneers of the women's game in the country. My perspective was never the same.
The two skippers told me what life was like as a woman cricketer. How apathy, encountered at every level, from fans to administrators, was a driving force for these cricketers.
And so, when Mithali Raj shut a reporter down just before the tournament for asking who her favourite male cricketer was, I knew where she was coming from. I had heard the same angst in Rangaswamy and Rau's voices. They were sick of being the poor female cousins of male cricketers, and played cricket with a chip on their shoulders, despite the erstwhile women's cricket board, and later, the mighty BCCI itself, not giving much of a damn about them.
Even after the final, Star Sports broadcast an excerpt from a sit-down interview with Raj, Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur, the new darling of cricket fans after her 171 not out against Australia in the semi-final.
“Who was your first crush?” the bearded male anchor asked the ladies.
“Who's your favourite male cricketer?” he asked Raj specifically.
“Which Bollywood star would you like to date?” he grinned. And Raj, with a patient smile playing on her lips, replied “Shah Rukh Khan, because his interviews are so entertaining and smart that I would love to have a first-hand experience of that.” There she was again, hitting the stupid questions out of the park with common sense.
Get over it, 'bro'. Ask them about the cricket. They're cricketers. Would you ask R Ashwin or KL Rahul or Ajinkya Rahane those questions, even in a 'colour' interview, before a World Cup final?
The 1983 comparison that matters
Thankfully, the fans seem to know better than us journalists and broadcasters. Yes, there has been the odd 'Why Smriti Mandhana is the newest celebrity crush' article (because of her smile, apparently), but largely, the discussion among casual and hardcore cricket fans has centred around Mandhana's capability as an aggressive opening batswoman, Raj and Goswami's cricketing records, Kaur's hitting ability, and in the final, Punam Raut's cool head (before it all fell apart, of course).
They needed eyeballs, and this tournament gave it to them by the bucketload. This is what Rangaswamy and Rau's prescription for women's cricket had been, this is what they received.
Now, all they need is for you, the fan, to remain tuned in, to watch their matches, to put pressure on the broadcasters to show women's cricket.
In an era where men's cricket is all about hitting, women's cricket is a throwback to an era where the bowlers and the batters can still have an equal fight, where 228 in 50 overs can be a match-winning score, and 280 a losing one. Remember, as India collapsed, Anya Shrubsole held her nerve to deliver a fine spell of intelligent medium-pace bowling, and was rewarded with six wickets, and her team the World Cup.
So, here's the 1983 comparison that really matters. What changed when Kapil's Devils won at Lord's was that India's male cricketers finally got the confidence to beat the best. And Indian fans got drawn in.
It was not the BCCI's money that changed the face of men's cricket, it was Indian fans' interest, filling the BCCI's coffers in the process. That's how the sponsors came in, that's how the game developed, that's how it got its amazing grassroots reach.
Fan interest is everything. And you, the fan, can make Indian women's cricket, and the game as a whole, change for the best.
This tournament was a start, and thanks for tuning in. Please keep at it.
First published: 24 July 2017, 0:15 IST
