THE WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE GAME AND THE GAZE

For decades, they weren’t seen. Today, they can’t be ignored. The rise of India's women cricketers is not just a sporting story — it’s a social shift

- NAMRATA KOHLI

Today morning I opened the newspaper and blinked — full-page ads celebrating women cricketers.

Surf Excel proclaiming “jo daag desh ki mitti ke liye bhain, woh acche hain,” Apollo Tyres, Rexona, financial and tech brands — all proudly associating with women’s cricket. Not out of charity, but conviction. Nothing succeeds like success, and when women win, suddenly everyone can see them. For a nation that once believed “cricketer” meant “male,” today Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana sit in the same breath as Virat Kohli. The spotlight is shifting — not generously, but deservedly.

This is the arc of change: it always begins with one. One Mithali Raj, quietly carrying Indian cricket on her shoulders long before the cameras cared. One Jhulan Goswami, bowling from the heart when nobody was counting the records. One Kiran Bedi proving law enforcement wasn't a man's world. One Mary Kom punching down stereotypes in a dimly lit Manipur gym. One PV Sindhu turned badminton from hobby to national heartbeat. One Priyanka Chopra walking into Hollywood and making the world pronounce Indian names, instead of shortening them. Every revolution in India has a face — one woman who pushes the gate open, so a thousand can walk in later without asking permission.