“Yeh awaragardi kab tak chalegi?” a state-level female cricket player was posed with this question by her neighbour. The question speaks volumes of the perpetuating gender stereotypes. This is the crux of author Suprita Das’ new book Free Hit: The Story of Women’s Cricket in India. It highlights the struggles and stories of Indian women who fell in love with the gentlemen’s sport.
Suprita, who interviewed female cricket players across generations, says “It was during the World Cup last year when I thought that I could work on this. Mithali Raj crossed the record for most runs in ODIs, I was writing a match report in office and thought that we have produced a highest run-getter in Mithali and the highest wicket-taker in Jhulan Goswami and these two girls have managed to do this with no eco-system to support them.”
“Women belonging to small towns and villages, with whatever little money they get, are wondering if this is the right choice. They are wondering, ‘It is not that I get to play a lot of matches throughout the year, should I just go back and help my father in farming, or complete my education and start teaching at a school or something. For a lot of them cricket is a tough choice. Hats off to them who have stuck around. Many of them are forced to drop out after playing for one season of domestic matches. You have to think practically after all,” she says.
While The Board of Control for Cricket in India has revised its contracts, and the salary of female players has been marginally raised since March this year, the domestic calendar is still not as busy as it is for men. “The only women who are doing this are doing it on their own, some with their family support, and others with a daily struggle and constant societal pressure,” she says.