Women’s cricket on brink of ‘1983 moment’

KOLKATA: Initially, Garia resident Roshni Mridha had enrolled her in 10-year-old daughter to a gymnastic training centre, primarily for physical fitness. But, since the last four months, her daughter has been undergoing professional cricket training and aspires to build a career in the game.

“My husband, who is an ardent cricket fan, was awed by the recent performance by the

national women’s cricket team

. Thus, we got both our daughters, including the younger one who is four, signed up for cricket training. Both of them are very serious about the game,” she said.

Somnath Chakraborty, whose professional cricket career came to a halt because of an injury, now plans to live his dream through his five-year-old daughter as he enrolled her in a cricket coaching centre at Vivekananda Park three months ago.

Inspired by the strong performance of the Women in Blue in the last few months, that has gotten them in the

World Cup

final to be played on Sunday at Lord’s in the UK, a host of parents in the city are enrolling their daughters in cricket academies rather than women centric sports such as gymnastics, badminton and swimming.

With India just a game away from securing the World Cup trophy, parents as well as coaches training young talents are hoping for a ‘1983 moment’ for women’s cricket in India. This win could inspire more girls to take up cricket as a professional sport.

“My cricketing career had stumbled when I had a sudden injury. But I wanted my child to be a cricketer. When we had a daughter, I was in two minds whether or not to get her into cricket but she has a genuine knack for it. With the women’s team performing so well, I introduced her to the game and now she wants to be a cricketer,” said Chakraborty, who coaches boys at a cricket academy in Lake Gardens. His daughter Sampoorna (5) quipped that her role model is Mithali Raj.

According to former Bengal cricketer Mithu Mukherjee, there has been a spurt of little girls in cricket academies in the last few months and that has everything to do with the way, the national team is playing. “Now, the Women in Blue have become heroes and that is an inspiration for the parents as well as budding cricketers. If India can win the cup, it would be the ‘1983 moment’ for women’s cricket in India and change the game’s overall perception,” said Mukherjee, who is associated with a cricket academy in Bagbazar.

For 22-year-old Bengal cricketer Bibha Tirki, players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are not her only role models. “I want to have a calm head like Mithali Raj, aggression like Jhulan Goswami and power hitting like Harmandeep Kaur. They are showing the world that cricket is no longer just about men,” said Tirki.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.