Cricket Talk | Understanding the changing landscape of women’s cricket through Karunya Keshav

Cricket Talk | Understanding the changing landscape of women’s cricket through Karunya Keshav

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Karunya Keshav on women's cricket

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The 2017 Women’s World Cup in England was a watershed moment in women’s cricket history - not only because India entered the final but also for the sheer quality of cricket on display. It signalled a surge in the format, which culminated with over 86000 people attending the 2020 T20 World Cup final.

The likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj, Meg Lanning, Sarah Taylor and Ellyse Perry became household names the 2017 World Cup, with Harmanpreet’s Derby knock against Australia being recognised as one of the finest and ferocious innings ever played by a cricketer - men’s or women’s. For a change, Indians were not watching the final because there was just an Indian team in action, but for the sheer majesty, they showcased as cricketers, for their skill, for the joy they brought.

However, it was not always like that. When the team stepped foot in England for the 2017 World Cup, Mithali Raj, already 18 years old in the international stage and being the captain for the majority of it, had just over 5000 Twitter followers, Smriti Mandhana was not really the national crush that she is now, and any die-hard cricket fan would have had a torrid time in naming more than five-six active women’s cricketers from India. Go to any venue and you would struggle to find more than two-three journalists covering the game.

Among those few scribes detailing their journeys is Karunya Keshav, co-author of Fire Burns Blue, alongside one of the finest practitioners of the craft in women’s cricket circles, Late Sidhanta Patnaik. The duo was among only three Indian journalists at Lord’s when India almost made history and came close to lifting their first World Cup Trophy. It was a landmark and historic moment witnessed from close quarters for Karunya. 

Karunya, since her Wisden India days and then working as a digital consultant with International Cricket Council and editor-at-large at wisden.com, has had a ring-side view of how women's cricket has made itself a viable entity. For the second edition of the Cricket Talk, SportsCafe caught up with Karunya to decode the journey and understand the changing landscape of women’s cricket.

Excerpts:

SC: India ended up at the seventh position in the 2013 home World Cup in the eight-team competition. But the sudden surge to surprise the world by coming close to the whole thing was a huge achievement. What is the factor that do you think contributed to the team’s progress in those four years and beyond?

Karunya: 2017 was massive for women’s cricket and this is something that the players, administrators and journalists have also said. They were still the same set of women who were playing, so why 2017 was suddenly the time when people took notice of women’s cricket is something that not everyone has wrapped their head around. There are some reasons, one is social media. The world cup happened in prime time and Harmanpreet’s knock happened on prime time TV. There was this social media buzz created not just by the players but even by the whole ecosystem. Social media massively helped magnify the tournament. Then, there was a lot about the 2017 World Cup in terms of the game itself that changed. 

SC: One of the complaints that fans have about women’s cricket is it is too slow and doesn’t fit to the modern-day standards. Do you think that attitude has changed systematically?

Karunya: It was not an overnight thing but run rates were the highest at the 2017world cup than any previous ones, the women were more able to clear the rope more. More sixes were hit than in any other edition. Visually too it became a spectacle, so I think it was a lot of things coming together and the fact that India was winning made a massive difference. So my point is that the players had awareness of what was at stake. Even from a structure point of view, after the 2013 World Cup, there was a lot of work that went into building structures that helped move towards excellence. It included having a strong women’s cricket administrative structure, playing more matches, contracts for the women and equality in access to facilities. It was a period of stability and India also benefited from the fact that there was an ICC Women’s Championship that helped them play against other countries.

SC: In 1998, over 80000 people attended the Women's World Cup final at the Eden Gardens. There have been many tales of the likes of Shantha Rangaswamy and Diana Edulji that you covered in your book. Even recently in Surat, people thronged to the venue in a great number. Do you think we will be back to the old-time again as far as women’s cricket is concerned?

Karunya: There has been a massive change. The thing about women’s cricket is that it has been a part of a community that has the passion towards the game and that passion has now extended beyond that community. There is also more interest and understanding that if a female cricketer attends a press conference, it has got to a phase that you can treat it like any sport with the fan and media criticism that comes like any sport.

SC: Let’s get the elephant out of the room, Karunya. What are your views on the possibility of a full-fledged Women’s IPL? Do you think it is a viable entity now that there is a Women's T20 Challenge in place?

Karunya: I think many Indian women’s players, as well as foreigners, have already said that there is a need for a women’s IPL. Its viability is not in question at all. As far as depth is concerned, at the beginning of the men’s IPL, there were similar questions like how will it pan out and whether we will have enough players. But the BCCI just jumped into it and later reaped the rewards. So the same leap of faith is required with women's cricket too. The only question is how will you structure this competition. The BCCI is going year by year with a certain structure, which is fair enough. You don’t directly need an 8-team tournament, but you do need to know that in two years or five years’ time, whatever it is, we will have a proper women's IPL, and build towards that.

SC: Karunya, Please take us through how the journey has been for you to bring the humane side of those cricketers - past and present - for your columns and your book. It must be a long journey...

Karunya: It was not very difficult to get the story out. If you are willing to listen you will get stories out. As long as you show that you have respect for what they do, most people are quite happy to open up. Of course, it's a very different context to sitting in a press conference and talking to them. But if people are willing to listen, then be it, men or women, they will talk. One that I thought went really well was when Jemimah got picked for the Indian team before they went to South Africa in 2018. So I had spoken to her and her family when she was doing really well in domestic and to me that was a reminder that be it for a boy or girl, it takes a massive team back home to help the cricketer get where they are and that is an important story. So it is always important to see the person in a wider context and I think speaking to her and her family at the same time was very nice. It takes so much for a player to reach where they are.

SC: The Coronavirus pandemic has brought a screeching halt to the game around the world and that means men’s internationals and IPL is going to be promoted to drive finances. Do you think the focus that the women’s game has got will be affected because of this?

Karunya: At this point, it is very difficult for anyone to predict the future, but we can definitely say what we hope to see. My feeling is that yes every aspect of the sport will take a hit and high-value match-ups will get preference for now but I think in the long-term, the value of women’s cricket is well established. There is a reason why there were 86000 people at the MCG. There is a reason that when Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues tweet something or do a show they get such a great response. And I don’t think those reasons have changed because of a pandemic and I don’t think any sponsor will wake up and say that I don’t want to put money on Smriti Mandhana anymore. They will continue to back the Indian team. So in terms of money value and match sponsorships,I think everything will be affected, but the intent and support that has brought us so far can’t change and won’t change. COVID can’t be an excuse for some of the things that won’t be done.

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