Sat May 03 18:35:28 UTC 2025: **The Hindu Huddle to Explore the Rise of Women’s Cricket in India**
Bengaluru, India (May 4, 2025) – The Hindu newspaper will host its annual Huddle event in Bengaluru on May 9th and 10th, featuring a session dedicated to the remarkable growth of women’s cricket in India. The session, titled “No Boundaries: Growth of women’s cricket in India,” will bring together three generations of influential figures in the sport.
The panel will include Shanta Rangaswamy, India’s first women’s team captain and a former BCCI apex council member; Mithali Raj, a former India captain; and Shreyanka Patil, a current India international player. The discussion will be moderated by K.C. Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor of The Hindu.
The panelists will discuss the challenges faced by early pioneers of women’s cricket in the 1970s, the pivotal role of the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI), and the significant impact of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) integrating women’s cricket. The session will also explore the game’s increasing popularity, fueled by pay parity and the launch of the Women’s Premier League.
The discussion will cover the journey from the WCAI’s formation in 1973 and India’s first ODI in 1978, to the recent successes, including reaching the World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017. The panel will offer insights into the future of women’s cricket in India.
Members of the public are invited to submit questions for the panelists by emailing huddle@thehindu.co.in.
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