Diana Edulji: N. Srinivasan hates women's cricket

“I’ve always been a BCCI basher, right from the day women’s cricket came into the BCCI fold in 2006. BCCI is a very male chauvinist organization. They never wanted women to dictate terms or get into this thing. I was very vocal right from my playing days, from when I started,” she said. “Even now, I would still say that it is not yet well accepted within BCCI that women’s cricket is doing well. It is very difficult for them (some BCCI members) to accept the fact that this team has done very well,” Indian Express reported Edulji as saying.

Further, to support her argument, the member of the CoA recalled her first meeting with former BCCI president N Srinivasan after he took over the reins in 2011, she said, “When Mr Srinivasan became president, I would like to say that I went to congratulate him at the Wankhede Stadium. He said, ‘If I had my way, I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen’. He hates women’s cricket.”

“There’s so much passion for cricket within us that we don’t ever think about getting tanned or that hum kaale ho jaayenge. There were many people in our society and some of my mother’s friends who would keep saying, ‘Isse ladki ki tarahthodarehnekeliyesikhao. Ladki kekaamsikhao’ .They used to ask my mother to teach me to dress up like a girl. My mother would then scold me. I would complain to my father and then they would end up arguing,” she said.

India’s success in the recently concluded World Cup has also raised hopes of a Women's IPL in the future and the trio was asked about this possibility; while Edulji felt it was too early for it, both Raut and Kaur hoped the opportunity arrived as soon as possible.  “I feel like even after all that’s happened, there are a lot of changes that still need to be made for women’s cricket. I hope we don’t end up saying many years later that ‘we also used to hit sixes during our time’. So, I feel if IPL starts now, then it’s great,” said Kaur.