Women's cricket in India has not come a long way: Shubangi

It's not every day you get a former captain of India at the CricInfo studios at Chennai. Yesterday, Shubangi Kulkarni, who captained the Indian women's cricket team for many years joined CricInfo's Anand Vasu for a lively chat.

AV: For any cricketer, playing their first game is a big moment. Describe the feelings you had when you made your debut.

SK: I was very excited playing for India for the first time. At home nobody knew the importance of playing Test cricket. When I played Test cricket, people at home didn't think it was a big deal, but for me it was very important.

AV: What was the highest moment on the field for you?

SK: The Test match that we won against West Indies in 1976, was a high moment. It was the first Test match India had won. I was especially happy to see the West Indian batsmen struggling against my spin bowling. I got five wickets on many occasions. To see them struggling against my bowling also made me very happy.

AV: There must have also been a lot of low moments.

SK: We played a couple of games against New Zealand in 1976 in Jaipur and Delhi. We lost two close matches. That was very frustrating - losing by small margins like a couple of runs or one wicket.

AV: How much support have you got from men cricketers?

SK: We at Poona have got a lot of support from men cricketers. But I am told that in some places the men cricketers have not been very cooperative. In the initial stages, most men cricketers have been helpful individually. They have helped us out technically, by coming to camps and giving us tips.

AV: Are you happy with the progress of women's cricket in India?

SK: I think women's cricket has been at the same level for a very long time. Considering that there is a lot more sponsorship in sports now, things should have grown more. In local cricket we are still struggling to get sponsorship. This year CricInfo has come forward to sponsor a local tournament. What we need is sponsorship of local cricket on a regular basis. That will help women's cricket to go forward.

AV: In Mumbai you see all cricket grounds filled with young cricketers but they're mostly boys. Why do you think that is so?

SK: In India, when a boy begins to walk, he is given a cricket bat. When girls come forward to play cricket, they are encouraged to take up other sports that are perceived as 'women's' sports. There are places where young girls are coming forward to play cricket and that's a good sign.

AV: What really needs to happen for this scenario to change?

SK: We need to space out women's cricket more. Like the Ranji Trophy format, we need to have tournaments being played for a longer period. Maybe play every weekend on a zonal basis. We should have one limited overs game and one two day game. At the end of a six or seventh month period we should play the nationals.

AV: Indian men's cricket is going through troubled times with all the betting and match fixing allegations flying around. Women's cricket might get more attention in these times. How would you rate India's chances in the forthcoming CricInfo women's World Cup in New Zealand?

SK: India has a very good chance to bring the Cup back. We have beaten New Zealand in New Zealand. And similarly England in England. Last time we just missed out when we played New Zealand. This year things should be better.