We have had two seasons of the Women’s Premier League. The ladies on the cricket field are now paid just as much as the gentlemen in India – a landmark in pay equality! Mitali Raj, Smriti Mandana are household names. And Bengaluru gave the most rousing welcome to the RCB Women last week. Yet the Chennai Super Kings fan in me is a little disappointed. Because we don’t have a women’s league of our own, donning the trademark yellow and shining bright against the green outfield.
In 2011, during a function at Wankhede stadium, Diana Edulji walked up to BCCI’s then newly appointed president N Srinivasan. She congratulated him and said that she hoped women’s cricket would grow under his leadership. Srinivasan’s response, however, shocked her. ‘If I had my way, I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen. Women have no business playing cricket. We are only doing this because it is an ICC rule.’
This, from a man with the most long standing association with domestic and international cricket, as far as India is concerned. The man lives and breathes cricket like nobody else. The stalwart of the India Cements Group has chaired the TNCA, BCCI and the ICC. He bought IPL to Tamil Nadu through CSK, and has built it up to be one of the most loved franchises in the premier league. In addition to several illustrious positions in the business circles, Srinivasan is also the President of the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation and former President of the All India Chess Federation. One would naturally expect him to bat for a team of women in #Yellove, yet that remains wishful thinking. A state which puts education and employment of women at the forefront should flaunt a women’s premier league of its own! Even the Boost and Bournvita ads now feature girls training for the sport. Is revenue generation a concern for an entity as iconic as CSK? We sure know how to market our teams and rake in the moolah. So here we are, twiddling our thumbs and waiting for the management to think otherwise. And until the tide turns in favour of Chennai Super Queens, all we can say is … Queen Elise Perry, Hip Hip! Hurrah!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Srinivasan
The Ink Spear 