What were the early days of women’s cricket in India like (and how did the Railways team dominate)?

“All of us should be indebted to her for taking that initiative.”

— Anjali Pendharkar, Indian Railways cricketer, about an act by Diana Edulji, Delhi, November 1976.

For decades, women’s cricket in India was played in pockets around the vast nation without a well-defined structure. The Women’s Cricket Association of India, founded in 1973, changed that to some extent, but there was still no money in the sport – certainly not enough for anyone to turn professional.

India women played their first Test matches against the West Indies, in 1975-76. Debuting in the first game was Diana Edulji, whose father had been an employee of Western Railways. Playing with the local boys – mostly children of Railways employees – had not only sparked her interest in sports but had also kept her “connected to the Railways family”.

Railways minister Kamalapati Tripathi attended the third Test of that West Indies series, at Delhi. His daughter-in-law Chandra Tripathi was the WCAI president at that point. Edulji walked up to him during the match with a simple request: her father was set to retire that same year, and she wanted a job with Railways. Edulji thus became the first female cricketer to be employed by Indian Railways under their sports quota. She did not have to worry about her livelihood anymore. She could solely focus on playing cricket, but she did not stop at that. She went all out to ensure other Indian women earned the same privilege as well.

It was not the first time Indian Railways offered livelihoods to cricketers. Their men’s team had been playing in the Ranji Trophy since 1958–59. However, this was different, for Edulji got a job despite there being no Railways women’s team.

That initiative had to wait until 1984, when a group of female cricketers reached out to Railways minister Madhavrao Scindia for jobs through Edulji. Realising the potential of women’s cricket in the country, Scindia commissioned a triangular intra-Railways tournament with the Western, Southern and Eastern sectors of the organisation. This served as a trial for the first-ever Railways Women team.

This was a significant moment. At a time when female cricketers – not only in India but around the world – often had to sustain themselves outside playing cricket, Indian Railways offered life-changing day jobs to their employees.

While not professionals in the truest sense, the cricketers were at least semi-professional. They could work until three in the afternoon and leave for training. They got time off work to play or to recover from injuries at a time when their counterparts had to balance livelihood and cricket. The employers tilted the balance even more: the Railways cricketers travelled in air-conditioned coaches to play when their counterparts across India often travelled by unreserved second-class.

But Railways did not stop there. They recruited cricketers who did well for other teams. It was not a big challenge, for they offered financial security at a time when the players earned practically nothing. When cricketers from other states came together only for or just ahead of the season, the Railways employees trained together around the year.

All this obviously resulted in Railways emerging as the strongest team in India by the proverbial mile. At the helm was Edulji herself, not only as cricketer but as captain, equipped with innovative strategies and a burning desire to win. They would steamroll oppositions, match after match, year after year …

This led to two problems. First, Indian cricket was reduced to a monopoly. Secondly, a young cricketer often impressed for another side and got recruited by the Railways. While that sorted her livelihood, the competition at Railways was so stiff that she often got left out of the playing XI and fell out of national contention.

Air India’s arrival as a rival in 1991 addressed both issues. Like Railways, they too began to recruit cricketers from other states to build their team. They provided stern competition to Railways, and not just on the field; their cricketers travelled by air.

The duopoly benefitted the national team. Between 1994 and 2005, India won six out of eight bilateral ODI series and a triangular tournament in New Zealand, which also featured Australia; and reached the World Cup final for the first time. The two organisations also recruited the two biggest names in Indian cricket: while Railways had Mithali Raj on their payroll, Air India got Jhulan Goswami.

The intense rivalry ended in 2006 when the BCCI took over women’s cricket from the WCAI. Since Air India was not a registered BCCI member, they were ineligible to participate in any cricket arranged by the board. Air India had to disband their team, and the Railways juggernaut resumed.

As Edulji moved on to an administrative role for the side after retirement, Raj stepped in as her heir. Barring 2011–12 and 2018– 19, Railways has won the Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy every time it has been hosted. Even in the fickler T20 format, they have missed only thrice – in 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2023–24. There have been challengers from time to time, but there is little doubt over their sustained supremacy.

As per the Supreme Court’s recommendations in 2018, the Railways should have lost their vote at the BCCI. Yet, they stayed put. “In view of the security of employment of the players from Railways as well as the ability to demonstrate playing skills and having regard to women’s cricket as an integral part of Indian Cricket, it appears necessary to consider this as an exception,” elaborated amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium.

Today, the BCCI offers retainers to female cricketers. There is enough incentive for women to become full-time professional cricketers. The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has brought unprecedented riches to women’s cricket. But long before that, Indian Railways had become the first large-scale recruiters of women in the sport.

The Original English Lady Cricketers (OELC) had predated them by nearly a century (see Chapter 37). Unlike the OELC, however, the Railways team did not disappear overnight. They have not only stayed but are likely to dominate Indian cricket for some time.

Excerpted with permission from Caught Yapping: A History Of Cricket In 100 Quotes, Abhishek Mukherjee, Penguin India.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting