On Sunday, when both Indian National teams — men’s and women’s — were playing T20 internationals, it would have been interesting to know which match drew more eyeballs on television. It wouldn’t be surprising if Harmanpreet Kaur’s team had the greater following, even if many viewers simply went back and forth between channels in the approved fashion!
When Virender Sehwag tweeted words of encouragement during the women’s game, someone was quick to point out: “Guess which match Sehwag is not watching…”
The player known widely as the Sehwag of the women’s game, Harmanpreet, had already made her mark on the tournament with a stunning century against New Zealand. There is an insouciance about her strokeplay which evokes Sehwag’s style, and an inevitability about clearing the field that brings to mind the self-confidence of another six-hitter, Chris Gayle.
Unfair comparisons
But the comparisons are unfair, and I should apologise for falling into that trap here myself. Women cricketers have to be assessed on their own merits and styles, and attempts at making them more accessible by comparison to their male counterparts are patronising.
After all, we do not say that Hardik Pandya bats like Jemima Rodrigues. Do we understand Harmanpreet better because of the Sehwag reference? Perhaps we do, but it is limiting, and says nothing about her grace and artistry and qualities that are unique to her batting.
Both players understand the angles on the field and carry a map of it in their heads while batting — but these are attributes of great players of either gender.
What Harmanpreet’s strikes don’t tell us is the different paths taken by the two players. The struggles of the woman player, the sacrifices she has had to make and the complete lack of a proper system till recently.
Sehwag was confident that he could advance through the age-group tournaments, and there was a logical progression into the national team. Women cricketers have not always enjoyed that luxury. The youngsters today — the average age of this team is just 24 — might be beginning to take the annual calendar and remuneration for granted, which is a good thing, but even Harmanpreet now 29, couldn’t afford to at the start of her career.
Despite the recent exploits of a Mithali Raj or a Jhulan Goswami, it was Harmanpreet’s 171 against Australia in the World Cup last year (where India lost in the final) that dramatically raised the profile of the Indian woman cricketer. The two signs of success in modern sport — live television and commercial endorsements — came together to act as ballast.
Changing times
Two colleagues from Wisden India Almanack , Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Patnaik, have written a book (published this month) about the history of the women’s game in India, The Fire Burns Blue. When publishers turn their attention to such a subject, you can rest assured it is hot news and there is a market for stories from around the country that need rescuing. What might have seemed like a brave move a few years ago now comes with the force of inevitability.
The Federation of International Cricketers Associations (India are not members of this players’ body) in its Women’s Global Employment Market Report and Survey released last month made some interesting observations.
Except in Australia, and to a lesser extent England, women’s cricket is largely an amateur sport; India, it says is a “fledgling professional” set-up, meaning that a professionally contracted national team structure exists but domestic structures are generally amateur. Long-term career viability is only provided by National team contracts.
Two-fold gap
The effect is two-fold. Such a set-up increases the gap with the top international teams (Australia, England) as well as the gap between the international and domestic players at home. That there are 560 players below the international level is significant, and a reminder that a women’s IPL tournament is due. Players’ financial security is an issue in women’s cricket around the world, and India are in a good position to follow the Big Bash League (Australia) here.
Soon after the Pakistan victory, Mithali Raj said that she expects the women’s IPL to be reality within a year or two. An exhibition match held during this year’s IPL in Mumbai included players from Australia, England and New Zealand besides India, and was seen as a step towards a full-fledged tournament.
The pressure on the women’s team now playing in the World T20 is twice it might have been in the past or what men’s teams face in similar tournaments.
Firstly, there is the matter of doing well in the competition, getting into the final and perhaps winning it. Then there is the pressure of carrying the future of women’s cricket itself linked to the performances.
As India progress, public interest will increase, sponsors will show greater awareness, and a few years’ growth will be compressed into a few weeks.
Harmanpreet and her team are playing not just to consolidate the present but to launch the future of the game too.
