MUMBAI: In the grand old tradition of Sangeet Natak (musical drama), as they are called in Maharashtra, every musical starts with a Nandee. It is sung by the entire cast of the musical, asking almighty for blessings before starting the show. Not for personal glory or individual accolades, but for the entire unit.
2023, when it comes to women's cricket, feels like a grand old Nandee. The year that started with the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa ending with two back-to-back Tests in India feels a little different for more than one reason. Many fans or even casual followers of women's cricket in India would remember December 2022 for a special reason. Even though the hosts could not win the five-match T20I series against the mighty Australians in Mumbai, the loud and proud fans showed up for every single match at two venues — DY Patil Stadium and the Cricket Club of India (CCI) ground. The high-octane clash between the two sides at the semi-final of the T20 World Cup a few months later changed the perception about spectators for the women's game. In many ways, those five matches helped build the momentum for India's very own franchise league.
In January, with the likes of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh in their ranks, India were the overwhelming favourites to win the first-ever U19 T20 World Cup and they did so in emphatic fashion beating England in the final. If these two events were responsible for igniting one of the biggest cricket markets in the world for the women's game, South African fans gathered to see their first senior team — men or women — make it to the World Cup final, that too on home soil. The result might not have gone their way in the most fickle format of the game, but that journey from losing two group stage matches to making it to the final was inspiring for the Rainbow Nation.
While the World Cup was making noise all over the World, India finally took a leap with the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League in March 2023. The five teams and 22-match-long tournament changed the way women's cricket was marketed in India. For things to change in cricket, one of the biggest markets and the most influential cricket boards needed to get involved and the WPL changed it all. The more audience per match, more eyeballs on the women's game and more new faces followed.
After that watershed moment, the bilateral series took over. In the women's Ashes series, the one-off Test saw a result after eight years when Australia defeated England. Australia's dominance was challenged in the white-ball leg of the series where England won the ODI and T20I series, to level the multi-format series 8-8. Bangladesh defeated India in one of the T20Is and even won an ODI against the dominant side. Pakistan defeated South Africa 3-0 in the T20I series at home and they also registered a series win in the shortest format against New Zealand recently. Sri Lanka had a great year as they overpowered New Zealand to bag the ODI series at home, and a few months later, shocked England to win a T20I series. West Indies, too, dominated Australia in Australia to chase down 212 in a T20I fixture in Sydney.
While these results might not surprise many, some may think that these were one-off given the unpredictability of the T20I format. But no one can ignore these results. Even now, many boards have looked at women's cricket as a vanity project that was not making them a lot of money. It has not been taken seriously, or it was left to enthusiastic administrators and in some cases completely ignored. If the women's game have seen these unprecedented results in 2023, it is in spite of these situations. The boards and other stakeholders are now understanding the value of standing behind the women's game. And they will not be disappointed in the future.
The year 2023 feels like an answer to all those collective prayers till now. With one more Test to go in this calendar year, there is still time to look back and analyze how it went, but so far it has been one amazing year for the game. With two big ICC events coming up in the next two years, this might just be the Nandee of an even brighter future to come.