Does Indian media take its sportswomen seriously? Currently, both the men’s and women’s teams are playing ODIs in South Africa and as usual there has been no broadcast for Women's Games in the country. The Apathy Towards Women’s Cricket Continues...
After the great performance by the Indian cricketers at World Cup stage last year, it is that time of the year when Mithali Raj and Co are to face their next international game in South Africa. The three-match One Day International series is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship and will decide the players’ fate for the next World Cup.
In the first ODI on February 5 at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, the women’s team played tremendously well and knocked out South Africa by 88 runs.
But as we know, media prefers male players at the center stage and the matches were being shown live.
BCCI’s Excuse
According to BCCI representatives, “BCCI does not have the rights for the matches that are played outside India,” a media representative of the Board of Control for Cricket in India told The Field.
In fact, the only way Indian fans could keep tracking the live scores was from the official Twitter handle of Cricket South Africa. Notwithstanding, the Twitter handle for the India’s women’s cricket team and the account for ICC Live Scores sat there idle.
Improved Yet Suffering
Even with a good number of cricket fans in the country, women’s cricket as a sport has been overlooked. Even if the girls overcome societal pressure the biggest challenge they face is lack of support from the government.
In the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup final at Lords Mithali Raj-led team was inevitable. Yet, do women players stand a fair chance? Well, looks like despite all the buzz and hype, nothing has changed for the women’s cricket team in India. Unless, people can see them playing how can the form get popularity?
Smriti Mandhana scored a fantastic 84 off 98 balls while pace duo of Jhulan Goswami (4/24) and Shikha Pandey (3/23) took seven wickets which led India to a striking victory.
The ongoing Championship gives both the teams a chance to directly qualify for the next World Cup, which will be held in 2021. But how can we expect women to play on equal grounds when it promotes a disturbing gender-biased coverage?
Obviously the fans were disappointed. This is How they Reacted...
READ: Why Are Female Athletes Judged By Their Appearance?
Also Read: Team India Flaunts Mothers’ Names On Jerseys
Read More Stories By Ria Das
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