Indian women and cricket

What does cricket mean to an ordinary Indian woman? A game on which her husband/ boyfriend hooks to and she is left with no other choice but to join her partner in watching twenty-two unknown men running hither and thither after a ball? Or does it mean oggling on real life heroes who do not get multiple chances like the movie stars? Well these are the notions that generally men have about “women and cricket” but there is also a huge chunk of female population who are genuinely interested in cricket and knows nothing less than her male partner about cricket!

Other than Anjum Chopra and Diana Eduljee ( and if you consider Mandira Bedi to be one!) we can hardly see ladies coming upfront and sharing their knowledge and views on cricket. We have so many women cricketers, though most of their communication skills are questionable but dont forget there are also zillions of male cricketers who had terrible communication skills but with proper grooming and exposure they have all turned into Karan Thapars of Indian cricket!

So why dont we train our women cricketers as well. Or is it the male chauvinistic world who does not want to listen to women experts, especially on a game which they feel solely belongs to the “man”kind.

So being a few months away from the World Cup 2011 are all we women of India gearing up for yet another male celebration in India where we will see male cricketers, male cricket administrators, male experts all speaking and bonding over cricket? Why do our countrymen forget that even we women grew up watching cricket alongside our fathers and uncles and listening to Tony Greigs and Geoffery Boycotts. Even we have a fair idea about leg-byes, off-sides and hit wickets. Even we have prayed ardently to God during nail-biting matches. Still no one asks our opinion after a match. How long will cricket be only a gentleman's game?