7 years on, Karnataka women cricketers in a league of own

BENGALURU: The past two months have been exciting times for women’s cricket in the state as the

Karnataka State Cricket Association

women’s cricket league was reinstated after a seven-year hiatus. The league, which concluded on Monday, saw a record 16 club teams and over 200 cricketers in action. Among the players were

international cricketers

Veda Krishnamurthy and

VR Vanitha

, who scored a double century.


The players were drawn from across the state — Mysuru, Mangaluru, Belagavi, Bagalkot and Hubballi.

While Vanitha, representing Jawans Cricket Club, scored 206 (93b; 19x4; 12x6), some individual scores and team totals indicate the vast disparity in experience and expertise. Jolly Cricketers, for instance, were all out for 12 in 16.3 overs against Herons CC while Wilson Garden CC, who lost their league match against BEL Colony Recreation Club by 292 runs, were penalised 80 runs for slowover rate during the 19 overs they bowled. The penalty, according to one umpire, is a rarity and was a result of the ball being sprayed across the ground and 60 runs conceded as extras (no balls and wides).

Former Indian skipper Shantha Rangaswamy believes the stress should be on beginnings, rather than results. “I’m glad the league happened. When you start something, quality is not always at its best. But that doesn’t mean you don’t begin. The league is an indicator on what needs to be done. Depending on quality of players, probably next year they can be divided into two divisions. We shouldn’t read too much into the scoreboard because it’s not much different in men’s cricket when they begin something new.”

Irfan Sait, the director, Karnataka Institute of Cricket, which was the feeder system for five of 16 participating teams, said, “We should persist with the programme. In 1997, I started the women’s cricket programme with one beginner, former international Karuna Jain. Now, I have over 80 women cricketers who train daily. We must keep the faith. Thanks to the league, the girls are now more focused on their game, skill, fitness and are working very hard. They now know they have a platform.”

While the clubs were all city-based, players were drawn from across the state. The challenge for KSCA is sustaining their interest and enthusiasm.

Talking about KSCA’s plans to improve women’s cricket, secretary Sudhakar Rao said, “The scoreboards don’t always tell you the full story. The emphasis was on getting more women to play competitive cricket and we achieved that. A few years ago, we had 20-30 girls coming for age-group team selections. Now, we have over 200. To encourage them, we had to revive the league. Now, it’s about finding balance and we’ll reach out to players in mofussil areas and impart quality training. Based on the league, we’re putting a plan in place and that will be ready in a week.”