BCCI welcomes inclusion of women's T20 in CWG 2022, IOA tight-lipped

While the cricket fraternity in India, including the BCCI, has welcomed the decision to include women's T20 cricket in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, the Indian Olympic Association has remain tight-lipped over the matter. IOA has made calls for boycotting the Games after shooting was excluded from the event schedule.

Speaking to THE WEEK, former Indian skipper Sudha Shah said: “It's great. It's nice to be playing lot of tournaments. This kind of exposure is good for the girls. We have a very talented group of players who play fearless cricket. The more you play, the better you get."

The next three years will see the women cricketers in action in big events—a far cry from the time when the only major tournament for them was the World Cup every four years. While the ICC Women's T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in 2020 in Australia, the Women's World Cup is in 2021. The CWG 2022 will be another major event for them.

Former Indian skipper Anjum Chopra, echoing Shah's sentiments, said: “It's a wonderful move initiated by the ICC and Commonwealth Games Federation. It's a nice exposure for the girls. To be part of a multi-disciplinary event is a different experience. So far, we have only been playing in World Cups as far as international events go. As for having so many big events involving women, it's brilliant. There is scope to make the game more visible. To be standing on a podium with medals and watching your country's flag go up, who wouldn't want it?" She added that competing and winning medals in such competitions will mean departmental promotions and more incentives for Indian women cricketers.

Eight teams will compete across eight match days, as cricket returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 1998, when South Africa won gold in men's 50-over format competition in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1998, the BCCI led by Jagmohan Dalmiya had stubbornly resisted the move to send a men's team to Kuala Lumpur but after tremendous pressure from the government and efforts of the then IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, a team led by Ajay Jadeja was sent. The schedule clashed with the Sahara Cup, which was an important, lucrative series played between India and Pakistan in Toronto, Canada. The BCCI's resistance to come under Olympic umbrella has continued ever since, both within the ICC and in India where it fought hard to remain outside the umbrella of IOA, maintaining its distinct "non-Olympic" identity. In fact, cricket was also included in Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010 but Team India did not participate.

How things have changed. The IOA, which had wanted cricket to be included in the multi-disciplinary events, has refused to make a comment when contacted by THE WEEK. The IOA's executive body meeting is set to deliberate on India's "boycott"of the CWG 2022 due to the exclusion of shooting. IOA president Narinder Batra had earlier written to the Sports Ministry suggesting India should boycott the Birmingham CWG.

Saba Karim, BCCI's general manager of cricket operations, who also looks after women's cricket, was ecstatic about the decision to include women's T20 cricket in CWG 2022, but did not wish to wade into the IOA territory. "We were there when the decision was announced. It's absolutely brilliant news. It's very healthy for the promotion of the game. It's good for cricket to be part of a multi-discipline environment."

Karim also gave a thumbs-up to the high-profile upcoming calendar. "We have a very good talent pool, we have bench strength and a team which is doing very well. We have been working towards an Under-19 team, and we have an India A team being readied. We are ready for this."