We, in India have 2 major passions: Cricket and Movies. We love to debate, argue, and discuss over the various aspects of cricket. The teams, the players, cricketing shots, the pitch and the tactics all make great discussions. Infact, cricket craze is all over the subcontinent and it is a single uniting factor above class, religion and nationality divides. Our cricket team comes under the scrutiny of every cricket aficionado. On the days the ODIs are played it might as well be declared a national holiday in some parts of the country; especially in government offices where one can afford to be more preoccupied with the match rather than their work. 

Top Cricket players are worshipped as heroes/Gods. We are a land of billion Gods as it is without these sports, political and cine Gods, so imagine the confusion. We have cricket fans like the beer drinking, rioting football fans in Europe who some times can be an embarrassment to the country. From the gully cricket played with rubber or tennis ball to clubs, cricket is played anywhere where a couple of kids find some open space. Cricket is a social leveler no doubt. While rushing past the bank, you can stop and ask for the scores at the pan walla or stand in front of a TV at the local Electronics goods shop amidst a crowd and cheer in unison. Cricket betting and match fixing and other controversies withheld (that's why it is was formerly called a gentlemen's game), it continues to be India's favourite sport. 

Even if the women commentators some times draw more attention to their attire than the finer details of the game, you know finally the ladies can have their say on the gentlemen's game. There was a debate many years earlier whether the women's cricket team can achieve the cult status that the men's team did. (For the doubters, yes, we have an invisible women's cricket team. While the performance of the men's team is very consistent …with the inconsistency that is, the performance in the women's team is surprising accomplished.). Just as football is considered a man's sport, many considered the cricket field as a man's bastion. It isn't meant for women some men cricketers said. May be they feared that the women's team may better their team's ODI statistics? 

Cricket as I mentioned earlier is a great social equalizer but not gender equalizer. While every injury, every twitch, every other silly incident of men's cricket is reported, the women team is entirely ignored when despite putting up with poor facilities and pay scales, pitches and bias, the women's team performance is better than their counterparts. We need a movie perhaps titled "Bend it like Kumble" to enlighten our cricket board/audience/spectators of some of these difficulties that the women's team face. 

Who's interested in watching a bunch of girls play backyard cricket one may ask. Women make up half of the population in the country. Ask them. People are as interested in women's tennis as much as men. Give the women's cricket team the same attention, coverage and support and then see. Where is the speed or the passion? Where are the stares and silent abuses? Women's tennis is doing pretty well for itself without the John McEnroes. What about technique. Even if the women don't match up to the speed, there is nothing to stop them from playing with technique. 

Infact in nation such as ours, with few women sporting idols, women upliftment in smaller communities is better done no other way than to project their success of these women sporting heroines. Look at the Sania Mirza phenomenon. After her rise, there was increased interest in young Muslim girls in taking up tennis. If only the media can get over its obsession with the over hyped men's team, it can do a lot of good for our women's team (who perhaps deserve this sort of attention more). It isn't entirely the statistics that make or break stars but the media projection. Poor Sania, who shoulders the burden of the affection of the entire men population in the country, will be slightly eased if our media can divert more attention to our ladies cricket team. Our cricket spectators may also find rest from burning all those effigies.