In a game of supreme egos where an individual often places her or his feelings above anything for that matter, rare are such occasions where a person breaks away from the usual mode of operation to express solidarity about the other! Isn’t it? And when such a thing happens in the complex game of cricket, one can be sure that the person is but an exceptional mind.
Think of women’s cricket and think of Mithali Raj, the former captain of the national women’s side, a person who supremely fits the aforementioned description.
At a time where much of the international stars of the women’s game aren’t exactly sporting a glint in their eye or massive smiles on the face for the complex schedule in which there’s this evident overlapping of the WBBL and the upcoming T20 challenger series, Mithali Raj has come forward and expressed a compassionate view on the plight of the foreign players.
The matter is simple and says the matter the way it is; due to the slightly complicated structuring of the Women’s T20 challenger series, which overlaps the WBBL (based in Australia), as understood, not everyone participating is happy.
But what can anyone do in this regard?
Among the finest and mightiest of talents in the women’s game, Australia’s stars would not want to miss even a single game of the much-celebrated WBBL due to which, they have expressed their dissatisfaction with which the forthcoming cricketing calendar was set. To this, Mithali Raj, who’s played against Australia all her life and understands the mindset and their love towards the WBBL has come out in full sport, whilst still backing the BCCI for doing what the Jodhpur-born feels, is ‘the best’ the board could have done.
This does not include the dissatisfaction of those who are criticising the BCCI for not going ahead with the upcoming tour to England, which was originally planned for the girls.
To this and more, here’s what a leading media had to say quoting the prolific run-scorer from India:
People tend to judge quickly. The BCCI president (Sourav Ganguly), secretary (Jay Shah) and IPL GC chief (Brijesh Patel) have been very encouraging towards women’s cricket.
“I personally thought we may not even get to play the Challenger trophy (domestic event) because even the men’s IPL was in doubt but these games are most welcome,” Mithali told PTI during an exclusive interview.
Furthermore, the technically-correct right-hander also added, “
I know a lot of people (foreign players) have questioned the timing of it but these are not normal circumstances. Normally, the IPL happens in April-May and doesn’t collide with WBBL (in Australia).
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“But these are unusual circumstances, the window (tentatively November 1-10) was a short one and the BCCI did the best it could.”
The upcoming series, all set to take place in the UAE, is all set to be a four-match tournament, which is a contest most are looking forward to, since it’ll end the ignominious delay caused by the current pandemic.