New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Exactly fifty years after she walked out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for India’s first women’s Test against the West Indies, Shubhangi Kulkarni still remembers how excited the dressing room was that morning. The match also marked the first international game played by India women’s cricket team.
“All of us were very excited. We were all very young, mostly college-going girls around 17 or 18 years old. We were just getting exposed to international competition, and all of us were thrilled to be playing international matches,” Shubhangi was quoted as saying by bcci.tv as Indian women’s cricket marks its golden jubilee on Saturday.
In that game, Shubhangi, a leg-spinner from Pune, became the third-youngest debutant in women’s Test history at 17 years and 104 days. She took 5-48 in the first innings and finished the match with figures of 7-76. The squad had trained under former India batter Lala Amarnath, and the excitement came with a fair amount of self-belief.
“We had a camp before the series with Lala Amarnath, and then we played the West Indies team, which was known for having good fast bowlers. We thought our spinners were very good, and we were really looking forward to the competition.
“The first Test match was very memorable for me because I got five wickets. It was the first time I was bowling to international cricketers. I had just learned a few tricks and was trying them out,” she added.
The excitement turned to celebration in the fourth Test at Patna’s Moin-ul-Haq Stadium. Shubhangi took 3-43 and 4-14 as India won a Test match for the first time. Her 23 wickets in the six-match series are still a joint record for the most in a women’s Test series.
“The kind of response we got from the crowd was something we had never anticipated. After we won, the crowd response was so overwhelming that it took us a long time to get back to the hotel because the crowds wouldn’t allow the bus to move. We kept signing autographs.”
“Initially, people came out of curiosity just to see us play. But once they started watching, they appreciated our skills and realised that girls could play cricket too. It took people a lot of time to accept us playing the sport,” recalled Shubhangi.
For many players, she said, the first hurdle was at home, and the second was money. “The biggest challenge for most girls was getting permission from home to play cricket. Parents were worried about the hard ball causing injuries, or that playing for long hours in the sun would make the girls dark.
“Another major challenge was funding. We had to spend money from our own pockets to travel for domestic events, often paying our own train fares. We stayed in dormitories and travelled in unreserved or second-class train compartments, sometimes carrying our own food to save money,” she added.
Shubhangi’s international career lasted 15 years. She played 17 consecutive Tests, the seventh-longest run in the format, and bowled 3,329 deliveries, ninth on the all-time list. She took 60 Test wickets with five five-wicket hauls, a joint world record, and her 16 stumpings are the second-most in women’s Tests. She also took 38 ODI wickets at an economy rate of 3.49.
Her best innings came on her captaincy debut against England at Collingham in 1986. With India at 105/5, she made a career-best 118 and added 106 for the eighth wicket with Minoti Desai, the fifth-highest eighth-wicket stand in women’s Tests, as India reached 323. She received the Arjuna Award in 1985.
Off the field, as honorary secretary of the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI), Shubhangi helped bring about its merger with the BCCI in 2006. She credited former BCCI president Sharad Pawar with making that happen.
“That is where things changed for women’s cricket in India and that is when the girls started getting the facilities. Those were challenging times. But looking back at where we are today, it gives us a sense of satisfaction that what we did in the beginning has borne fruit.”
She credited ICC chairman Jay Shah, the former BCCI secretary, and the present board administration with speeding up the game’s growth, adding that today’s players have support her generation could not have imagined.
“The facilities that the BCCI is providing to women cricketers are excellent now. If you compare it to our time, when we played on college grounds, club grounds, and uneven surfaces, today these girls are playing on top-class grounds, which significantly improves fielding and overall play.
“The facilities provided, such as state teams staying in four-star or five-star hotels and travelling by air, are a stark contrast to our struggles. The equal match fees and the central contracts that the girls are getting allow them to focus entirely on their game without worrying about finances.
“They are well-provided for, and the BCCI’s support has completely transformed the sport. The most significant change has been the introduction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), which has opened up numerous opportunities for domestic players to play alongside international stars and learn from them in the dressing room,” she said.
India won their first ICC Women’s ODI World Cup on November 2 last year, and Shubhangi said the title meant as much to former players as to the team. “It was a dream come true for most of us former players because winning a World Cup is something we all wanted. Seeing this team achieve it gave me immense satisfaction.
“The team performed exceptionally well; they gave their 100% and never gave up. There were challenges, but they overcame them, making it a total team effort. The way they played, hats off to Harmanpreet and the entire team.”
Shubhangi further said she valued the way Harmanpreet Kaur’s side has honoured the pioneers. “It is very nice of the current players to appreciate and recognise the efforts of the earlier players. During our time, we played for the love and passion of the game. It felt like they truly valued all of that, and I am really proud that the team felt that way.”
She also recalled the contribution of the founders of the women’s game in India: Mahendra Kumar Sharma, Pramila Bai Chavan and Chandra Tripathi. “In 1973, when the organisation was formed and Mr Sharma registered it, he actually gave the girls a platform to play a sport and turn what had been a hobby into a national sport,” she said.
Looking ahead, Shubhangi signed off by welcoming India’s hosting of the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in February 2027. “I think the timing is absolutely right for hosting the first-ever Women’s Champions Trophy. After winning the World Cup last year and then the match at Lord’s, I think we have the momentum, and this is the fastest-growing sport in India.
“With all the fans following, with the infrastructure, with whatever support we’ve been getting from BCCI and our experience, I think it’s most appropriate that we have the inaugural edition in India. And I think it’s a great initiative by ICC to start this tournament.”
–IANS
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