Diana Edulji: N. Srinivasan hates women's cricket
Former Indian womenâs team skipper Diana Edulji has revealed that ex-BCCI president N.Srinivasan once told her that if it were up to him, he wouldnât let womenâs cricket happen. The 61-year-old also branded the BCCI as a male chauvinist organization for their attitude towards womenâs cricket.
2017 has been a watershed moment for Indian Womenâs cricket with the team making the finals of the ICC Womenâs World Cup in England and Wales. However, former Indian womenâs team skipper Diana Edulji has made some stunning revelations about the BCCIâs attitude towards womenâs cricket as she claimed that the recent success of the team hasnât been âaccepted too wellâ by some BCCI members. Â
âIâve always been a BCCI basher, right from the day womenâs 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,â she said. âEven now, I would still say that it is not yet well accepted within BCCI that womenâs cricket is doing well. It is very difficult for them (some BCCI members) to accept the fact that this team has done very well,â 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, âWhen
Edulji was supported by two of the biggest stars of Indiaâs world cup campaign in the form of Punam Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur and while the duo acknowledged the fact that the popularity of womenâs cricket in the country has gone up considerably since the World Cup, Raut also recalled some of the flak she faced when she decided to take up cricket professionally.
âThereâs so much passion for cricket within us that we donât ever think about getting tanned or that hum
Raut further added, There are many parents who still think along those lines⌠Youâll get dark if you stay under the sun for six hours. Whoâll get married to you? Iâve seen todayâs parents only encourage their daughters to study and say that youâll have to get married at a fixed age and get settled. I believe if any girl likes playing, or if
On the other hand, Kaur who became a household name when she smashed a match-winning 171 against Australia in the semi final, also revealed some of her past struggles
Indiaâs 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.  âI feel like even after all thatâs happened, there are a lot of changes that still need to be made for womenâs cricket. I hope we donât end up saying many years later that âwe also used to hit sixes during our timeâ. So, I feel if IPL starts now, then itâs great,â said Kaur.Â