Ten years back, even the most die hard cricket followers would be hard pressed to name a handful of women cricketers. Their names would either be a part of quizzing trivia or would just be one of the token names that fans remember.
This is because Women’s cricket did not reach the fans as men’s cricket did. The women’s cricket matches were few and far between , for instance, a legend like Mithali Raj, who played 22 years of international cricket, had only played 12 test matches.
Another impediment to the growth of women’s cricket was the lack of adequate broadcasting for women’s cricket. Women’s cricket was more or less forgotten by the broadcasters unless and until teams were involved in the World Cup.
In our opinion, all of this changed after the stellar showing of the Indian Women’s cricket team in the 2017 ODI World Cup. This is of course not to argue that Indian women’s cricket wasn’t stellar before this tournament. But a confluence of broadcasting, fan interest and team performance helped in building a following for the Indian team that was unprecedented. It is crucial to note the role the internet has played in the growth of women’s cricket. Social Media also leads to the democratization of voices to a certain extent and also provides the framework for more effective publicity of certain events and sports.
How Women’s Cricket is Evolving
Now going back to the 2017 World Cup, India first beat Australia, the defending champions, in the semifinal thanks to a superlative 170 plus innings by Harmanpreet Kaur. Then, India played the most nail biting of finals against England, which went to the last over and ended with India losing.
The 2017 World Cup was bookended by the start of the Women’s Big Bash League, and Indian players aplenty started participating in it. Credit must go to the Big Bash organizers in Australia, who understood the level of popularity that the sport garners, by extending the franchise system to the women’s game.
Soon after, the English T20 leagues and The Hundred, inaugurated the high profile entry of women’s cricket in the public consciousness.
But cricket, especially women’s cricket, was dominated by international match ups. Yet again, a competition with Australia provided the spark fir the further growth of women’s Cricket, when India’s team visited Australia and exceeded expectations by chasing record totals to beat a previously invincible Australia in the series.
India’s performance alongside the growth of the New Zealand team, garnered an Amazon Prime broadcast deal, wherein one could see New Zealand face off against India in January and February 2022.
The very entry of streaming platforms like Amazon into a hitherto niche market like Women’s cricket, indicated the growth the game has made.
This momentum carried forward to the 2022 ODI Women’s World Cup, which was filled with excitement aplenty. So much so, that India’s must win group game against South Africa, had the nation on tenterhooks.
With talks about a Women’s IPL gaining speed, all signs point to Women’s cricket being on an upward swing.
In such circumstances, My11Circle, the popular fantasy cricket app, has been at the forefront of following the women’s game. Not only does it allow you to participate In internationals played by women’s teams, but also, gives you the chance to partake in franchise tournaments for women cricketers such as the Big Bash, Women’s T20 Challenge and The Hundred.
So if you love the women’s game, and are willing to leverage your knowledge for monetary rewards, My11Circle is your one stop destination for such an endeavor.
Read: Mithali raj announced her retirement from international cricket: Here’s a series of her achievements
