HYDERABAD: How did you come together to write this book? How did the idea for the book germinate?
SP: The idea of the book was first planted in our heads in 2014 by Suresh Menon, who has been more than a senior colleague for us over the last few years when we were in the media. He felt there was a knowledge gap on women’s cricket and seeing our overall passion for the subject, he felt we were the right people to write the book.
Karunya and I have been colleagues for six years and our passion for bringing out the untold stories brought us together for this project. Obviously, the market dynamics changed only after India’s final appearance in the 2017 World Cup, and fortunately, we were in a position to tell the story since we covered the tournament.
You have interviewed many women cricketers who had inspiring tales to tell. Can you relate one such story that impacted you?
KK and SP: Perhaps one encounter that was special was with Shobha Pandit (now Shobha Mundkur), who was among the first generation of international players. She lives in Pune was so welcoming of us and open about her journey. She’s had her share of challenges in her personal life, losing her husband young, and has faced some life-threatening health issues, but still comes across as a positive, giving person. We had some philosophical discussions with her and came away with a sense of peace almost! There is also the story of Shireen Kiash, who we mention at the start of the book.
We could not meet her, but everything we heard about her – how she represented India in three sports and was a pioneer on and off the field, about her life as a wife and mother, her career in a foreign land, her fight against cancer – shows a remarkable woman. Both these women perhaps don’t get as much space in the book as some other legends, but they are a big part of the reason why we were so convinced that this book needed to be written.
Why do you think women’s cricket is not as popular as men’s?
SP: It’s not that women don’t play cricket in India, it is just that they did not have a robust structure for a long time. The history of women’s cricket in England can be traced back to 1740s, but by the time India formed a team, it was mid 1970s.
For a long time, Women’s Cricket Association of India had a tough time running the show before BCCI took charge in 2006. Sharad Pawar did a lot of progressive work in that period with the help of Shubhangi Kulkarni, but IPL arrived in 2008 and this project took a backseat for whatever reasons.
It was ideally the time when BCCI should have taken up the responsibility of strengthening the grass roots, but very little progress happened till Anurag Thakur came and introduced central contracts in 2015. The 2017 World Cup gave momentum, but very little was done to cash in on it.
By now we should have had exchange programmes for players in association with foreign boards, Talent Resource Development Wing (a unit that unearthed MS Dhoni all those years back), regular India Under-19 and India A tours. In our opinion, Women’s IPL should have happened this year. Slowly things are improving, but there is still a long way to go for India to catch up with Australia and England.
Which one do you think was one of the watershed moments in the history of women’s cricket in India?
KK: There have been special moments before – a multi-nation tournament win in 1995, Mithali Raj’s double-hundred in 2002, reaching the World Cup final in 2005 – but they’d all gone almost unnoticed. In terms of making an impact in the sport, it has to be Harman’s 171* in the World Cup 2017 semi-final against Australia. The stakes involved, and the fact that it was on TV and social media was talking about it made sure that it wasn’t just another incredible innings that was out of sight and hence quickly out of mind.
What kind of research went into writing this book, and how long did it take to finish it?
KK: We took about a year to research and write the book, but a lot of the background work was built up over the past many years on the job. Much of the research was through interviews across India. We’ve spoken to over 100 people for the book. Depending on oral accounts brought its own set of problems, of course – people forgetting or misquoting figures, accounts not matching, so we had to tread carefully. The library at CCI, Mumbai, newspaper archives, a small group of historians and websites such as ESPNcricinfo and Women’s Cricket History were also useful resources.
We still do not come across as many girls playing cricket in playgrounds as boys. What can be done to ensure that the numbers increase?
SP: We have to reach out to schools to begin with, and also local clubs. We can activate five schools or clubs then we will have at least 50-plus girls playing. This can be achieved through awareness programmes. When BCCI took charge in 2006, Mumbai Cricket Association invited various school to send girls for a tennis ball tournament. They were given a free kit. Those girls eventually graduated to leather ball cricket. Jemimah Rodrigues is a product of that structure. It’s easily doable if state associations show the right intent and dedicate a small percentage of funds they receive from BCCI into this.
Do you think comparing the performances of men and women players does a great disservice to the women?
KK: It depends. It’s insulting when the comparison is patronising, when it seems like you’re surprised that a female cricketer is comparable to a man. So calling Mithali Raj a female Sachin is lazy and uninformed. But one of cricket’s great pastimes is describing players in reference to bits of other players we see in them.
Female players deserve to have their game scrutinised and described with the same enthusiasm and detail as we do for the men, and if that means seeing a bit of Gavaskar or Ponting in someone, so be it. Hopefully, as we get to watch more women play on TV, the comparisons will extend the other way as well and some of the women will be seen as the gold standard.
Which part of the book was the most difficult to write about?
KK and SP: On an emotional level, the World Cup parts, because it’s still hard to forget the disappointment of that day and how close the team came. On a more practical level, the first chapter about Harman’s 171 was tricky because it was the first chapter and it was important to get the flow right, and our combined voice right.
The book will release on November 30.
kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com