Day 82: Please let me change the record

 It feels odd on a day that India’s women have comprehensively won a T20 International, beating South Africa by nine wickets with 54 balls to spare. It was maybe a little unfair to say it was a consolation win against a South Africa side that was already dreaming of returning home.

The action on the field today from India was in stark contrast to how their national board, the BCCI, seems to treat the development of the women’s game with disdain.

I don’t want to write that, as I have done several times this year. India have the potential to be the best women’s side in the world, not just in the short term but for years to come.

One of the ways they can achieve that is to treat the domestic competitions. What has been suggested for years now is a proper women’s IPL. It doesn’t have to be on the same scale as the men’s competition which drags on for what seems like an eternity.

What India’s women deserve is more than a few exhibition games cobbled together as some afterthought. Suppose the BCCI truly want their women’s side to be the dominant force in world cricket. In that case, they need to think of expanding the T20 tournament beyond its three-team competition with one that not only celebrates the women’s game but allows some of its domestic players to play regular cricket against some of the best players in the world.

You could argue that South Africa have moved up to second in the ICC ODI rankings without an IPL style competition, but you get the sense that the players who represent their nation are given all the tools to succeed.

It wouldn’t take much to make India world cup winners; it would also spark an already thirst from fans in India for the women’s game. I know people in India who are trying their best to make that dream come true. You have to look at the things that Women’s CricZone are doing to promote the game worldwide and, in particular, India.

If their national board replicated their passion, I wouldn’t be writing things like this but praising their foresight and how the rest of the world could catch up.