10th Anniversary Special: Women’s cricket has finally taken flight; Mithali Raj reflects on legacy, equality and World Cup glory

I was relieved; I felt a burden off my shoulders. No matter how good you are as a team, how well you do, not having the World Cup feels like something is missing. In the past, we have reached the finals but were never able to cross that rope. By winning it this year, we’ve broken that. It’s a very different era that we are getting into. With everything happening in the last three to four years — whether it’s pay parity, Women’s Premier League, commercialising it... a lot of things are on a roll for women’s cricket. Winning a World Cup has given the required impetus for the sport in our country to take a huge leap.

The changes we’ve seen in the last few years should have actually started a little earlier. But then for that, you require somebody at the top to look at women’s cricket as equivalent. Just giving some amount on the sides to run women’s cricket really didn’t help because apart from the investment, you require a lot more to be done to increase the pool of players, give more matches and high-quality series.

With the Women’s Premier League, a lot of young potential players, those who thought they would never get to play for India, were able to work on their skill to make it to the Indian team. Even players in the late 30s could debut, which never happened in the past. By your late 20s, you would be considered done and dusted with your career. That has changed now. This ecosystem has really fast-forwarded the growth of women’s cricket. So, I would say, yes, many players who had to let go of playing cricket then, would have got few more years, and all those close encounters probably would have been crossed. But I believe everything happens at a time. We had to go through that evolution to be here.

In 2005, I was a very young captain. So, that was more like cracking it for the first time into the finals. But 2017 was a heartbreak because we lost quite narrowly. So, yes, this World Cup trophy did heal that wound. When I revisit those games, I don’t necessarily feel the pain anymore.

That never happened, because once I decided to retire, I have not really put myself as a player. Maybe as a broadcaster, when I’m commentating, I am, again, wearing that hat of a player or a captain because then I’m analysing as an expert. During the tournament, because I was also commentating for all the India games, I didn’t feel the nerves until the semi-final. On the morning of semi-final, I was woken up (as I was staying very close to the ground) by the music they were testing. It suddenly went off. And I instantly reminded myself that I’m not playing the semi-final; I shouldn’t be nervous. Honestly, I felt like — this is the moment; this is the game. If India cracks it, then it’s India’s World Cup, for sure.

When the Indian team lost the toss and were chasing, I felt it was good because when it is a high-stake game, it’s always good to be as a unit on the field initially. That’s the time when both the teams are feeling the nerves. And if you have your teammates around, it’s a calming balm.

You’ll have to first decide which generation you want to put me in! (laughs) I’ve been a cricketer for a good 23 years and that means I’ve played with about four to five generations!

Okay, so, is it technique, temperament, belief that my generation has passed on? I don’t know. That you’ll have to ask the girls. Over time, with resources and more structured pathway, things have changed from the time I started playing for India. The players have become far more professional; have their own personal trainers and can get access to any training facility in our country. Our time was different. We didn’t have such facilities.

Oh, we did — at least in the ’90s and till 2002. Most of us would seek sponsors. For my first tour, my father reached out to the bank he was employed with, and my own school gave some financial aid.

The joy and gratitude to play for India. How many of us get an opportunity to represent all of us at that level? Also, the way my parents have sacrificed... While knowing there’s absolutely nothing in the sport, they still wanted to see me play for India. And then, when you stick at it, despite the odds, with time, certain changes do happen. With the women’s cricket coming under BCCI, things got a little better. And then Jay Shah came in. He has done so much for women’s cricket. He’s the one who’s got us pay parity, Women’s Premier League, and also announced that the prize money is now equivalent to the men’s. That’s game-changing.