Women’s Sports in India: Growth of Cricket

Cricket is one of the top five most popular sports, with over 2.5 billion global fans. In India, this sport has become almost a religion. Still, despite how popular the sport is in the country, it’s been largely dominated by male players. It’s only in the last few years that women have started receiving the recognition they deserve as legitimate cricket players.

Its Popularity in India

India is expected to generate $2.38 billion in revenue in 2025. Because this sport is integrated into India’s daily life and culture, experts believe it will have an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.92% between now and 2029. 

That means that by 2029, India can generate around $2.67 billion in revenue in this market alone. Fans who love the sport also bet on it. Cricket is one of the favourite options for bettors, using well-known betting sites like Dafabet Sports. 

However, it has only become fully accepted as a women’s sport in recent years. In the last decade or so, this traditional gentleman’s sport experienced a paradigm shift as the women’s game gained acclaim in the sports world.

Enter the Women’s Game

While women have been playing cricket for decades, their role in the sport was only officially acknowledged in 1973. That year, the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) was created. While it was the first step in the right direction, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

For years, women fought and struggled to be recognised and receive the same treatment, facilities, and funding that men enjoyed. A lot of the progress that female cricket enjoyed was due to the efforts of female players like Diana Edulji, Shantha Rangaswamy, and Mithali Raj. 

It was only in 2006 that India saw a significant positive movement regarding women’s place in this game. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) merged with the WCAI to place the female category of the sport under the same umbrella as the men.

It opened up this side of the sport to better media coverage, funding, and facilities. Further, it also allowed female players to receive central contracts, which helped them achieve a more stable financial position as an official players. 

It also opened up the chance for women to play on a bigger scale at national and international tournaments. By developing and implementing a cohesive and robust domestic structure for women who want to play cricket, the BCCI also made it more accessible.

A Timeline On the Evolution of Women’s Cricket

There are a few events that really stand out in the history of women’s cricket in India. Find below a few of the significant highlights that helped women move towards equal respect in cricket.

• 1973 – Mahendra Kumar Sharma registered the WCAI

– WCAI became a member of the International Women’s Cricket Council

– Three female cricket teams (Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, and Maharashtra) participated in the women’s inter-state nationals

• 1975 – The first international women’s test match was between India and Australia in Pune
• 1976 – India won their first test match, a game they played against West Indies at Patna
• 1978 – The WCAI receives government recognition
• 1995 – India’s first time winning a One Day series (the Centenary Celebration of New Zealand Cricket)
• 2006 – The WCAI merges with the BCCI
• 2017 – The Indian women’s team played in the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup, narrowly losing against England
• 2020 – The Indian women’s team reached the final in the T20 World Cup
• 2023 – The Women’s Premier League played its inaugural tournament in March
• 2024 – The Indian women’s team won the inaugural edition of the ACC Under-19 Women’s T20 Asia Cup
• 2025 – The Indian team won the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa

Factors That Further Boost Its Popularity

Over the last few years, women’s cricket has been gaining momentum, especially in India. However, what has contributed to its rise in fame? 

Dedicated Women’s Tournaments

As women’s cricket becomes more popular,  they’re included in more tournaments. Some of the most famous tournaments for Indian female cricket players are the following:

Tournament	Description
ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup	A 16-team event where young female cricket players compete using the T20 format.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup	An international tournament where teams play for 20 overs to decide the winners.
ICC Champions Trophy	A quadrennial tournament where you play to 50 overs using the ODI format.
ACC Women’s U19 Asia Cup	A biennial tournament for junior Asian teams to help prepare for the Asia Cup.
Asia Cup Women T20	A prelude to the T20 World Cup where Asian teams can test their skills.

Increased Media Coverage of Female Players

Thanks to the momentum gained for Indian female cricket players, more women’s tournaments and events are being broadcast. In 2023, about 50 million viewers watched the first 14 games of the WPL. However, by the 2024 season, that viewership figure more than doubled to 103 million.

Further, more women are also becoming interested in sports. For the 2020 IPL season, there was a 21% increase in female viewers compared to the previous year. As such, female teams can get more funding, and it creates a sustaining market for women’s cricket players.

Stepping into the Future of Cricket in India

In the last few years, women have started showing that they can succeed in traditionally male-dominated sports. Cricket is one of the sports in which its female division has especially seen success, with India’s national female team showing its worth on the pitch in the last five years. With cricket becoming an Olympic sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, there are even more opportunities for growth on the horizon.

FAQs

How will cricket becoming an Olympic sport help female players?

It’s a unique chance for not just Indian female teams but also global cricket teams to gain more popularity. This also means governments will be more likely to sponsor teams, investments, and grassroots programs.

How does India rank on the women’s ICC rankings?

The ICC assigned India 260 points, and they are third behind England (279 points) and Australia (296 points). 

What’s the ODI Series?

It’s a tournament using a One Day International format that’s played for 50 overs. There are also field restrictions for the first and last 10 overs.

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